4 BETTER HEALTH FOR A BETTER U - #TAKE5 - in 6 WORKSHOPS!

Meet the #TAKE5 Workshop Mentors

#TAKE5 workshops are a movement that utilizes youth-voice and their “photovoice” to destigmatize mental illness. Workshops provide large group dialogues, small group activities and 1:1 Workshop Mentors for middle and high school aged youth.  Youth will practice destress activities with the team, learn about myths and facts of mental health and wellbeing and understand how their voice can create change for self and community.

Anisa Abdulahi

Hello, my name is Anisa Abdulahi and I am from San Diego, California, and originally from Nashville, Tennessee. I am a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota and I majored in Kinesiology and minored in Health and Wellness Promotion. I will be attending graduate school in the fall at the University of Minnesota for my occupational therapy doctorate (OTD). I am super excited to start this journey because I am so passionate about mental health, pediatrics, neuroscience, and physical rehabilitation! I got involved with the YMCA as a second-semester student with the wellbeing team. I then served as a program manager for the Y Just Chillin’ Matters initiative in partnership with Allina Health. Beyond this, my hobbies include playing basketballs, tennis (sports in general), watching movies, going on road trips, and being a big sister to 9 younger siblings! My favorite ways to de-stress include meditating, exercising, and listening to some good tunes.

Pardis Stenoien

My name is Pardis Stenoien and I am currently a graduate student at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, studying for my Masters in Public Health Policy and Administration. In my year studying public health, I have learned so much and cultivated passions in health equity topics, one of which is mental health! I love the topic of mental health and stigma because it speaks to my personal experience navigating my own mental health and the resources I used to overcome many of the struggles I was facing. So I am excited to have the chance to dig into this topic with you all - as current and future change makers, it is incredibly important that we prioritize our own wellbeing! In my free time I love to play with my puppy, watch old movies, and go on hikes with friends.

Susana Carlos

I am currently a second-year Master of Public Health student, with a concentration in Community Health Promotion (at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in Psychology, Cognitive Science minor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a life-long resident of Los Angeles, I love it when people ask me why I moved to Minnesota (haha). I am very active in student government and student organizations on campus, as I am super passionate about supporting graduate students! I am a big coffee drinker, love cartoons, music, and sleeping in is the best. This is my first time working with the Y and I am so grateful to be around such amazing, passionate people in my day to day.

Laila Hernandez

My name is Laila Hernandez. I am a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Sociology of Law/Criminal Justice/ Deviance with a minor in Chicano Latino Studies. I have recently accepted a position with the Children Corps in New York City where I will be a Case Manager. I am super excited for this opportunity and can’t wait to see where life takes me in the Big Apple. I am very passionate about social justice and began my activism journey when I was a senior in high school. My first protest was a Black Lives Matter protest that I helped organize with members of the community. Some of the revolutionary leaders that I look up to are Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, and Winne Mandela. I believe that some of my strengths are advocacy, community, leadership, and upholding a critical lens to the world we live in. Some of my favorite things to do in my free time are read, listen to music (been really into Tupac, Kendrick, Biggie, and Erykah). I also really like to express myself through art by engaging in dance, painting, photography, videography, and poetry. My favorite thing to do recently is just hang out by the river and connect to the nature around me.