Waynesburg University was recently recognized with the 2019 Educator Award by the western Pennsylvania chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The award was presented at the foundation’s annual Out of the Darkness walk in Pittsburgh Aug. 17 and is given to schools that lead efforts to train students on suicide prevention.

Briana Ryan, senior arts administration major and Bonner scholar, selected suicide prevention as her assigned issue-based project for the Bonner Program during her freshman year. An issue-based project is an extensive year-long project where Bonner scholars coordinate local community and campus events around an ongoing societal issue. 

Though she played a major role in the achievement of this award, Ryan says the accomplishment was very much a collaborative effort.

“It was everyone coming together,” Ryan said. “I couldn’t have done this on my own.”

To earn this recognition, Ryan and group members hosted suicide prevention training programs campus-wide and also held a special training for Residence Life staff. 

The Bonner scholars in the suicide prevention issue-based project group also held the university’s second annual Out of the Darkness walk and hosted special coffeehouses, called “Redemption Stories,” to allow students the opportunity to address topics around mental health.

These coffeehouses gave students the opportunity to speak out about their own struggles with mental health and find community with each other.

“If you share your story, you don’t know who you can help,” Ryan said.

Waynesburg’s annual Out of the Darkness walk has become a popular event on campus. Students and faculty gather and walk in recognition of mental health issues and in rememberance of those lost.

“When you’re there, you realize just how many other people have gone through what you’ve been through,” Ryan said.

When Ryan initially joined the suicide prevention issue-based project group, the project overall wasn’t very active. During the last several years, the suicide prevention project has blossomed. Adrienne Tharp, coordinator of the Bonner Scholar Program, remembers the origins of these new programs.

“Students who were coming in said that we could do more with this,” Tharp said.

Tharp plans to coordinate with current Bonner scholars to continue the events that have been created to promote suicide prevention on campus, including the annual Out of the Darkness walk. Tharp encourages even more students to participate in the walk. 

“It’s really a celebration of living,” Tharp said. “I think people have a misconception that it is a dark, gloomy event.”

More than 250 students participate annually in the walk, alongside faculty and representatives from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“If nothing else, even without getting the award, it’s rewarding to know that the school is coming together,” Ryan said.

Tharp believes the recent growth of the suicide prevention project is the result of hard work and also a cultural shift towards being more accepting and open about mental health. 

“Students are more aware, and they’re not afraid to hold back,” Tharp said. “It has been great to see students really owning this.”

Ryan is incredibly proud to have earned this achievement, though she says that the award has motivated her to set even higher goals for suicide prevention programs within the university. 

“It’s exciting to see students put all of their time and energy into something and see it pay off,” Tharp said.