The Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Organization invites all students at the U of A to attend Zoe Ayres' seminar on "Managing Your Mental Health in Graduate School" at 11:50 a.m. Friday, April 29, on Zoom (Meeting ID: 830 6427 8526 Passcode: Seminar1). 

Ayres is an analytical chemist who advocates for improved mental health awareness and support in academia and beyond, as well as greater representation and inclusivity within STEM. She is the author of the #mentalhealth Twitter poster series, exploring mental health in academia. She is also the co-founder of "Voices of America," a mental health blog for academics and the project lead for the Twitter campaign #100voices, sharing 100 mental health journeys from researchers over 100 days to reduce the stigma. 

Graduate students around the globe struggle with mental health. Unfortunately, with the numerous responsibilities and the overwhelming pressure that comes with being a graduate student, mental health does not become a priority. A 2018 survey of a total of 2,279 individuals (90 percent doctoral students and 10 percent master's students) demonstrated that graduate students are more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety as compared to the general population (Evans 2018). This and many other studies support a call for action to establish and expand mental health resources, such as this seminar, to help graduate students. 

This event is supported by the Student Activities Fee as a funded event by the Associated Student Government and is free to all currently enrolled University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, students who pay the student activities fee. For questions about the event or for accommodations due to disability, please contact the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Organization at bmegrso@uark.edu.