Fairfax senior Tranh Dinh believes good mental health is one of the foundations of peace and a civil society. This belief has motivated her to promote good mental health practices not only among her high school peers but also to surrounding schools and the greater Fairfax County community.

Personal familiarity with mental health sufferers motivated Tranh in her junior year to organize Mind Matters Fairfax, a student-led school club devoted to reducing the stigma of mental health, improving mental health awareness, and promoting positive mental health practices.

Following a classmate’s tragic overdose death, Tranh collaborated with school counselors and social workers to revitalize her school’s Wellness Week by growing the program into Fun Fridays, as well as by adding regular self-care and art-based activities throughout the year. These activities combined reach an estimated 2,000 Fairfax high school students each week.

Through Mind Matters Fairfax, Tranh has also sought to augment the community’s limited resources for early mental health education. This year, Tranh wrote a proposal to the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Service Board for their Youth-Led Anti-Stigma Mini-Grant that resulted in a $1,000 award.

Tranh plans to use the grant money to buy educational materials and organize events in local elementary and middle schools to promote good mental health practices. She hopes to continue expanding Mind Matters Fairfax and provide a strong foundation for the club for years to come.

Tranh also is active in mental health advocacy. Last August, she visited Capitol Hill and briefed a staff member of Rep. Gerry Connally’s office about Mind Matters. They discussed what it would take to extend mental health education to elementary and middle school grades.

One of Tranh’s main goals is to foster a generation engaged in open discussions about mental illness to de-stigmatize the subject. “It’s definitely difficult to deal with the stigma associated with mental health,” she observes, “but encouraging open conversations about your personal experiences with those around you is one step that you can take to erase the stigma and raise awareness.”