UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 28, 2024

Healthy Trailblazer Coalition’s efforts to help students at Utah Tech

The Healthy Trailblazer Club is really excited about the variety of events coming up soon. Miki Akiyama | Sun News Daily

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When a student leaves home to pursue education, it often takes a toll on their mental health.

This is not something unique to Utah Tech University; it’s just a part of campus life. This is why the Healthy Trailblazers Coalition was established.

The coalition was created in spring of 2021 in order to help the students of Utah Tech receive the assistance they need in regards to their mental and physical health. Issues such as substance abuse, mental health struggles and suicide prevention are always on the to-do list of the many students and faculty who help the coalition function.

The coalition is not just a club, It’s an organization comprised of students and faculty with extra support from the Booth Wellness Center and Utah Tech Police Department.

The student representative of the coalition is Saige Coates, a junior nursing major from Herriman. Coates has been the head of the coalition since spring 2022 and has a desire to give back to community by tackling these grim subjects.

“I really liked the idea of educating myself and others on mental health, how to be healthy and how to cope in a healthy way,” Coates said. “I, myself, struggle with mental health. I have really bad anxiety and social anxiety, and this position kind of pushes me to put myself out there and you know, kind of deal with it but also in a more healthy way.”

Coates said the members of the coalition are always trying to find new ways to help the student body face their fears and overcome their mental struggles. One such way was to install a drug drop box at the Utah Tech Police Department. The police department then proceeds to dispose of the various substances by giving them to the state for incineration. Coates also mentioned a second drop box will be installed at the BWC in the coming weeks.

The events the coalition hosts also tackle more specific topics.

“Last semester we had Hot Cocoa With The Popo,” Coates said. “That was for students to kind of socialize with the campus police and kind of get to know them, to know they’re not the enemy. We’re actually doing a similar event this semester called Soda Pop With The Cops. It’s the same concept, but you know, a more warm weather type.”

Coates is just one of many people who help the coalition function. The adviser for the Healthy Trailblazers Coalition is Kasey Shakespear, an assistant director for the Southern Utah Area Health Education Center.

One of Shakespear’s goals is to collect data on what the student body of Utah Tech struggles with the most when it comes to mental health.

Shakespear said this is not a unique problem to Utah Tech. Every college and university have specific struggles and issues they have to deal with when it comes to topics like substance abuse, mental health and suicide.

“We have what’s called a key leader board comprised of administration staff and faculty, and they conduct surveys and collect data on behalf of the coalition as well as many other organizations,” Shakespear said. “It’s through that data where we begin to put together what’s called a community profile.”

Shakespear said a community profile is a list of issues that are specifically identified for the Utah Tech student body. Once they gather enough data, they plan to tackle these specific issues with help from the BWC.

Both Coates and Shakespear said students shouldn’t be afraid to seek out assistance with their mental health. It’s a completely normal thing to experience feelings of doubt after leaving home. The Healthy Trailblazers Coalition is here to help ease the burdens students may be carrying in their minds, and more than anything, they want students to know they’re always welcome at Utah Tech.