NAMI to honor high school student for mental health advocacy
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The NAMI Brazos Valley team will give the community a look into the work they do during the Spring Open House Wednesday starting at 11 a.m.
During that time, they’ll also award Sebastian Rodriguez with the Youth Leader of the Year Award.
During Rodriguez’s sophomore year, he noticed the toll COVID-19 brought on him and his friends.
“The separation, the lack of physical interaction and then the hyper-awareness that social media brings,” Rodriguez said. “Really just being more hyper-aware of our flaws.”
Knowing they weren’t the only ones feeling that way, he had an idea to create a mental health organization.
“It really became a group effort junior year and finally becoming the organization that you see today senior year,” Rodriguez said.
The Viking Mental Health Association became official during the 2023-2024 school year with the help of NAMI Brazos Valley.
“If youth between the ages of about 9 and above are helped in a younger area and we remove that stigma as they are younger, then when they are older, and maybe there is no diagnosis at 9 years old or 12 or 15, but maybe if there is one at 24 or 38 or 45, there won’t be a stigma,” Amber Robertson said.
Robertson is NAMI’s director of development and outreach and said this is why Rodriguez is the perfect candidate for the award.
“We want to award that because it takes one person to create change,” Robertson said.
Rodriguez plans to continue his advocacy in college.
“I hope to continue advocating for mental illness at UT Austin, and I hope to become more involved in mental health organizations that they have over there,” Rodriguez said. “The information that I rally from there, I hope to then convey here to VMHA and NAMI on campus.”
The open house will start at 11 a.m. with an opening prayer and the awards ceremony. It’ll run until 2 p.m.
NAMI Brazos Valley is located at 3705 South College Avenue in Bryan.
