Offered at EMU since 2010, the program offers one-on-one personalized coaching and mentoring to help undergraduate students adjust to life away from home. CoachLink can help support students struggling with time management, stress, anxiety, depression, attention issues, and general problems with their moods or concentration. The program is available to EMU students at no cost.

CoachLink has been completely rebooted this year, with three new coaches joining the program. We talked to one of those coaches, Karissa Sanford, to learn all about the program and how it supports students on campus.

What is CoachLink?
We walk alongside students and meet them where they’re at. Some students might struggle academically, with time management, organization, or just adjusting to college life in general, so we mentor them in that we listen to them, talk with them, and come up with goals and ideas to iron out their problems so they can be more successful here on campus. We always say that success looks different for everyone. Some people don’t want to be A+ students and that’s fine. We’ll help you become the best B+ student on campus if that’s your goal. We want to help you get there, but overall, we want you to graduate.

Who is it for?
CoachLink is for anybody. You don’t have to be in a bad spot or struggling. We’re here for students in whatever way they need to get connected to talk, so we’re always a resource that’s available to them.

Has there been a lot of interest from students?
We’re starting to pick up because we’re at the point in the semester where students start to identify that what they’re doing might not be working and that they might need some extra support. All my meetings have been positive. Sometimes they already know what to do; they just need a little extra encouragement. With other students, what they’re doing might not necessarily be wrong. It’s just not working for them, and so it’s all about trying different techniques.

Where were you before coming to EMU?
I’m originally from a very small town in Ohio (Saint Paris) and then went to college at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for three years (graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education). My mom and I just moved here in May, so I’m new to Harrisonburg, new to EMU, and new to this role.

In addition to Sanford, Valarie Ghant and Celeste Thomas serve as the other two CoachLink coaches. Learn more about the coaches here.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
I love meeting with students and seeing their eyes light up. Some students come in and they can be pretty defeated. They’ve been struggling for a while and they feel like it’s snowballed and that they’re never going to get out of it. I love when we talk about techniques and they realize, This might actually work for me. I love seeing that look on their face. When they come back and it’s working and they’re doing a lot better, it just makes me so happy because I loved my college experience. It was some of the best years of my life and I want other people to feel that, too. I want everyone to leave college feeling like they were successful and accomplished and proud of what they did and happy with their time here. I like to help students find that.

Where do you meet with students?
We can meet here (in Room 275D of the Visual and Communication Arts/VACA department), but we leave it up to students where they feel most comfortable. I meet a lot of students at Common Grounds because it’s a fun area. We can take a walk around campus, go to Campus Center or the library, wherever works best for them.

How often do you meet with each student?
It’s up to the student. I have students who meet with me once—they just need a little bit of advice—and then they’re like, OK, cool, I don’t need to meet with you anymore. And that’s totally fine. Other students want to meet every week and keep this as a part of their routine.

How can students sign up for the program?
To meet with one of our coaches, they can email us at coachlink@emu.edu.

Learn more about the CoachLink program at .

Check out the November drop-in hours below!

The event begins at JMU’s Student Success Plaza, in front of the Grace Street parking deck, and the walk will wind through the campus for 1.3 miles before ending at Godwin Gym, where Carter and Casey will address the crowd. Food and activities will be available, including the folding of origami fish as symbols of strength and courage, creating remembrance stones and other arts activities, and a kids’ area.

Participants can also make squares to start a new Symbols of Hope quilt. The first quilt, which was created over the three previous Walk for Hope events, has been completed and will be on display at the event.

‘Know you’re not alone’

“We want to create awareness of hope for any student, to tell them, ‘Know you’re not alone,” says , director of and services at EMU. “People can move through different forms of depression and bad days. We want to show that there are ways to get through those. There’s lots of help on our campuses and in the community.”

The walk began in 2012 following the death of Austin Frazier, a JMU student from Harrisonburg. The Frazier family approached EMU and proposed that all the area campuses come together to host an event, providing an initial starter donation. The Austin Frazier Memorial Fund now covers half of the expenses, and the four schools and Sentara RMH Behavioral Health provide the rest. Participants don’t have to collect sponsors or pay a fee, although donations are collected.

The first Walk for Hope took place in downtown Harrisonburg and drew about 1,000 people. Subsequent events have continued to have strong support, with at least 700 to 800 people walking each year. Comer said EMU—which will host the event in 2017—typically has 200 to 250 participating.

EMU alumna to speak

Carter, , took part in that first Walk for Hope.

“She thought it was so good and so helpful for her, and to have the community gathering,” Comer says. “Now here we are, five years later, and she’s one of our speakers.”

Casey, a JMU graduate student working with mental health issues as founder and president of Where I Stand, will provide the introduction and welcome Carter as the main speaker, and then the two will close together with readings of poetry. The other activities, representing different expressions of hope, will be available following the speakers.

Check-in and T-shirt pickup (gray with color-coordinated footprints for each school) begins at the Student Success Plaza at 11:30 a.m. Each participant will also be given a yellow flower to carry on the walk. The walk begins at noon, and events are scheduled to conclude about 3 p.m.

This year, the t-shirts, free to , are printed with four tread marks, inked, of course, with each school’s colors.

“It’s a symbol of all four schools united together,” said Suzanne Hostetler, who mentors EMU students in her positions with and and is a member of the Walk for Hope planning committee. “The EMU counseling center is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside of JMU, Bridgewater College, and Blue Ridge Community College to raise awareness about depression and suicide prevention. We see this day as a valuable event for students, faculty, staff and community members to come together in unity and to experience hope.”

The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Participants will gather at 11:15 a.m. at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, with the walk to Bridgewater College commencing at 11:30 a.m. The main event music, speakers, refreshments, and creative arts activities, which includes music, speakers, refreshments, and community arts projects starts at 12:30 p.m. in Nininger Hall. Children’s activities include face painting, hula hooping, and a special art area.

Comedian Kevin Breel, a writer and activist for student mental health, will be the speaker. The 21-year-old Canadian has toured frequently on behalf of Active Minds, a national student organization that works on peer levels to change the perception about mental health. His talk “” was featured on TEDxKids.

As in past years, participants can create remembrance art, adding squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt or creating “Hope in a Bag,” personal bags “to hold symbols of hope to remember for yourself or share with others,” she said, adding that participatory art projects have always been an important part of the event.

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. Last year’s event, hosted at EMU, drew between 600 and 700 participants.

That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

The event is sponsored by , which also funds an innovative mentoring program at EMU called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

Walk For Hope unites students from Blue Ridge Community College, Bridgewater College, ��ݮ���� and James Madison University to raise awareness about depression and suicide. The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Organizers predict this year’s event will be especially powerful. The Steel Wheels, which include Eric Brubaker ’01, Brian Dickel ’98, and Jay Lapp, are also bringing that special friend on stage to share the story of his struggles with depression and past abuse, and how he came to make a different, life-saving choice. Keith Morris ’83 is past president and current board member of the , which addresses child sexual abuse in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

“The prevailing message of the event is hope,” said planning committee member , who mentors EMU students in her positions with and . “It’s really moving to be a part of it, to see everyone supporting each other.”

The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with a 2.2-mile walk from JMU’s Memorial Hall in downtown Harrisonburg along High Street/Virginia Avenue to the EMU campus. In the past, walkers and an administrator from each school marched separately to a common location, but this year, in a show of solidarity, all will walk together. Walk For Hope T-shirts, free to pre-registered participants, will be brightly tie-dyed in school colors.

Organizers expect close to 1,000 participants to congregate at EMU’s Thomas Plaza around 12:30 p.m. for an afternoon of music, creativity, and sharing. The concert begins at 1 p.m. Other activities include children’s face-painting and games, drumming, and opportunities to create remembrance art. As in past years, participants can decorate and take home personal garden stones and add squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt. This year’s special community project will be decorating large wooden letters that spell “Walk for Hope.”

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

Raising awareness and providing support are two goals of the , which co-sponsors Walk for Hope and also funds an innovative mentoring program at EMU called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

“This CoachLink program and Walk for Hope were concepts presented to local colleges by his father, Bibb Frazier,” says Hostetler, one of five coaches in the CoachLink program. “Both are ways to honor Austin’s memory, to acknowledge that there is hope for all those who experience the effects of depression and suicidal thoughts, and to provide support and resources to students who may need it.” Bibb Frazier is the owner of the nearby , which supplied limestone seen on EMU’s buildings and grounds.

In 2010, CoachLink began with 15 students and three mentors. Now five coaches are paired with more than 50 students, some of whom probably would never see a counselor because of “stigma and anxiety or past history,” says coach Crystal Horning, a counselor with more than 25 years experience in the mental health field. “The informality of our meeting places and the kind of supportive relationship we have is almost more freeing, I think, for a student to talk about really challenging issues.”

Hostetler says Walk for Hope has successfully created a similar informal and positive atmosphere for educating and raising awareness. “From that first year, we wanted the focus to be on hope,” she said. “We wanted to create the right atmosphere that is comfortable, so people feel free to walk for someone they’ve lost or someone who considered suicide, but didn’t do it. We wanted people to leave feeling hopeful and comfortable talking about depression and suicide, because it’s not something people talk about or admit they’ve struggled with.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Austin Frazier Memorial Fund, EMU, JMU, Bridgewater College, and Sentara RMH Behavioral Health.

To receive a free t-shirt, pre-register at .

By Kate Elizabeth Queram, Daily News-Record

When he sat down to write his son Austin’s obituary last fall, Bibb Frazier was faced with a choice.

He could be purposely vague about how the 22-year-old died, or he could say, straightforwardly, that it was suicide, caused by his son’s battle with bipolar disorder.

“And I chose, in this case, to do something to make people think about a very real problem,” said Frazier, of Harrisonburg. “This is a situation where it’s best just to be honest and try to save some lives in the future.”

Austin Frazier Memorial Fund

Austin Frazier

To accomplish that goal, Frazier established the , where people could send monetary gifts in lieu of flowers. Immediately, he said, they began to pour in.

“There were well over 100 gifts made, and they’re still coming in,” he said. “And about a quarter of them are from strangers.”

This fall, that donated money – with additional funds from Frazier himself – will help launch a program at ��ݮ���� designed to make the transition to college life easier for students suffering from mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

‘CoachLink’ connects the dots

Called “CoachLink,” the program will pair undergraduates with “coaches” – second-year graduate students enrolled in EMU’s master of counseling program.

<!––> Participation in the program is voluntary, and the request for assistance can come from the undergraduates themselves, their parents or faculty members, according to Pam Comer, director of counseling services at EMU.

The graduate students – who will receive credit for their participation – will serve as mentors, campus liaisons and friends, Comer said.

‘A listening ear’

Pam Comer, director of counseling services at EMU

“Coaches will determine case by case what each individual undergraduate needs,” she said. “They’ll connect them on campus, be a go-to, be a listening ear.”

Frazier said he chose EMU after the Mennonite community reached out to his family following Austin’s death. The campus’ size, he added, is ideally suited to the program.

“Being such a small school, I think it’s a particularly good nurturing environment for it to be tested and tweaked and monitored,” he said.

Program begins with four coaches

Currently, the program has four coaches, with the potential to expand depending on the demand from undergraduates.

Comer said she knows of at least two incoming students who have expressed interest in using CoachLink, but that the need for the program is much more widespread.

“Twenty-five percent of any college campus usually has some kind of pre-existing issue with depression or anxiety,” she said.

“About half of them could really be helped by a personalized layer of attention.”

Importance of ‘reaching out for help’

The hope, according to Frazier, is to encourage students to reach out for help in time to prevent them from feeling disconnected, withdrawing from school or ultimately succumbing to their disorders.

Frazier said he felt that if Austin – a junior at James Madison University when he died – had access to a program like CoachLink, his outcome could have been different.

“It’s an unmet public health need, transitioning these kids … into the freshman dorms, because once they leave their home, it’s sink or swim, baby,” he said.

“You’re on your own. You have to ask for any help, and sometimes for these students, that’s the hard thing.”

Future plans for CoachLink

The program is funded for three school years, according to Frazier, and the results will be tracked to determine if it can be expanded to other campuses. But even if it stays, successfully, at EMU, he’ll be happy.

“My first and number one hope is that it saves lives,” he said. “If we can just save a couple families from having to go through what we did, that’s enough.”

More info

For more information on CoachLink, contact Pam Comer at 540-432-4314 or email coachlink@emu.edu. If you or someone you know has concerns about suicide, she advises calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

• CoachLink at EMU
• EMU Counseling Services