On Saturday, Nov. 9, Sam Chan, a fourth-year studying political science, was announced as the Leader of the Pack scholarship recipient at the football game against Clemson.
Chan has been very involved as a leader on campus, as a mental health ambassador, a member of Student Government and more. Chan discussed the application process for Leader of the Pack and her role in leadership on campus.
Briefly describe what piqued your interest in the scholarship?
I heard about the Leader of the Pack scholarship from an email from Leadership and Civic Engagement. I actually applied for the award last year as well, but I didn’t even make the first cut. So I was actually questioning and unsure if I should reapply for the award, but thankfully, I was talking to some friends, and they encouraged me to try again. So I’m really happy that I took that chance and tried again and persisted, even though it didn’t work out the first time.
What was your essay written about?
My essay was about [my] greatest contribution as a leader at NC State, so I talked about creating an event two years ago called “Exploring Mental Health in the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Experience.” I am a mental health ambassador with the counseling center, and when talking with other Asian American mental health ambassadors, I know for me personally, there’s a stigma about mental health. It’s very stigmatized, and many other Asian cultures, when talking with other students about this, I realized this was a common theme in other Asian American households as well. Mental health is definitely not talked about. Stress is invalidated [as] not working hard enough, or not getting enough sleep, or not studying enough oftentimes, which definitely is not the case. Mental health is a real thing in all communities. So we came together and started an event talking about the intersection of being APIDA and mental health, because that is such a stigmatized topic in our community.
How has your mental health activism at NC State changed or shaped you as a person?
Being a mental health ambassador here at NC State has really helped me be able to talk about mental health. I think it’s a topic that I at first was very nervous to talk about, especially [because] I didn’t want to say the wrong phrase or mess up or assume things that weren’t true. So, learning how to have a conversation with people about mental health and learning to be more open about talking about the fact that I go to counseling and therapy is incredible, and the fact that the Counseling Center is included in your student fees [has] really opened my mind about how to talk about it with different people, especially people who might be more reluctant or hesitant to try out the Counseling Center, as well as just being aware of the resources that I can refer others to is really huge for me. So that’s really helped and really changed the culture of talking and being very honest about what’s going on in your everyday life. I think many times, when people ask you how you are, you automatically say “good,” but I’ve tried to work on that myself and take a second and actually think about how I am doing and be honest with others.
What have been some highlights from your time as Student Government diversity outreach co-director?
I served as the Student Government diversity outreach co-director last year, and with our committee, we were able to do lots of incredible work around diversity. One thing that I’m really proud of that we got to work on was the first ever accessibility excursion. We partnered with the Disability Resource Office on campus to plan this excursion for students to go around to different parts of campus. The event started with learning about different accessibility issues on campus, especially looking at physical accessibility. So maybe there’s a ramp, and then there’s stairs right after that; that’s not very helpful. Or if an accessibility button doesn’t work, that is a big issue. Another thing is when people take bricks out from the middle of the sidewalk; that can be an issue, as well as leaving Lime scooters in the middle of the sidewalk. So we talked about those issues and the resources you can use when you notice that something is missing or needs to be replaced. And then students went in different groups to different parts of campus with the map and took notes and looked around at things that were inaccessible, and we came back and talked about these issues and how we can use NC State resources to solve these issues.
Which activity on campus has been your favorite or most fulfilling overall?
It would definitely be a tie between my time as diversity outreach co-director and a mental health ambassador. I think educating students about these topics and bringing awareness to these topics is so important, and highlighting all the great resources that we have on campus is what I’m really passionate about.
What do you plan to do in the future after graduating?
I’m hoping to work on a political campaign in North Carolina, maybe doing communication work. I really would love to combine my two majors, political science and communication, and help get an incredible candidate elected to office.
