Five questions with a CYtation Award winner

Student counseling services' Michelle Roling is nearing her 25th year at Iowa State, and the assistant director of outreach doesn't stop finding ways to connect students in need with the right resources. Roling has helped develop numerous programs and initiatives to shine a light on the importance of mental health and ensure students know they are never alone. For her efforts, Roling received a CYtation Award from the Professional and Scientific Council. Roling sat down with Inside to talk about the award and the work she does.

What did it mean to be recognized with a CYtation Award?

It was humbling because much of the work we do is confidential and we can't talk about it. It feels great to have the university acknowledge the hard work I and the unit are doing. I couldn't work with a better group of colleagues, and I have full trust in them that we can walk through difficult things together. To impact students at such a critical point in their lives is a humbling part of the job. 

Tell us about some of the initiatives you helped create for our students.

Rocks that Rock started this fall during prep week and will happen twice each year toward the end of the semester. We take rocks and paint them with a positive quote or a cute picture and put them all around campus for people to find and keep, share or put back. We just want to give people a little lift. Some of the rocks have a sticker on the bottom to encourage students to bring it to the office for a prize. 

Field of Memories is on the Friday of Suicide Awareness Week in the fall. We plant 1,100 yellow flags on a central campus lawn -- representing how many U.S. college students die by suicide each year -- and invite passersby to write a message of encouragement to someone who may be struggling or who lost their battle.

The Out of the Darkness Walk is an annual partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that will take place April 25. Events start at 8 a.m. and numerous community resources supporting mental health will be available. It's a wonderful event to remind us all there's a community around you and you are not alone. I co-chair the Field of Memories and Out of the Darkness Walk with [suicide prevention services coordinator] Jeffrey Nelson. 

What role can faculty and staff play in our students' mental health?

A huge piece is our relationship with our faculty who invite us in to speak with their classes. People who don't know they need to hear our message, need to hear our message. We do a lot of normalizing of loneliness and letting students know that resilience is a learned skill, that they are not alone. Doing preventative work with students in their classes hopefully helps them from struggling.

We also offer the Question, Persuade, Refer. training multiple times a month for faculty, staff and students. It's one-hour programming designed to teach the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to respond.

There seems to be a growing awareness about the importance of mental health. What have you seen on campus?

Many students think others need the help counseling can provide more than they do, a trend at counseling centers across the country. Students are the group that is least help-seeking. Reaching out for help sooner is better. When people wait, the severity of what they are dealing with is higher when they do come in. We are fortunate to be at a campus that puts support into so many resources for our students' mental health. One thing we learned from the pandemic is we need to be out on campus as much as possible.

Many students are uncomfortable in a group setting, even though we know group therapy is one of the most effective interventions for students who present with social anxiety or loneliness. So we are really thinking about better ways to do group therapy and run workshops. 

What's one piece of advice for looking out for each other?

Every voice makes a difference and a kind "hello" can be the most important thing we do for one another.