My name is Alexis Harris, I am an alumna of Franklin Academy, graduating in the class of 2017. I received all thirteen years of my pre-university education at Franklin Academy. While there, I was a board member of National Junior Honor Society, a member of National Honor Society, as well as a member of the Board of Valedictorians for my senior class. At Franklin Academy, I was pushed to be successful and ambitious. Both of these are qualities that I retain and am proud of, but they did come at a cost. 

During high school, while I was able to maintain good grades and be successful, I developed severe anxiety and depression. I felt as if the school, its faculty, and its administrators had placed expectations upon me that were obligatory to meet. Now that I am older, and finally receiving treatment for my mental health, I can see that the environment and culture that Franklin Academy cultivates is not conducive for healthy achievement. In addition, there were no adequate mental health resources available to students during my time at the school. I believe that it has certainly had long-lasting effects on my mental health, as well as my academic performance. 

 I strongly believe that adequate mental health resources are incredibly necessary for students to have available to them while navigating adolescence and in the competitive and strenuous environment that Franklin Academy offers, and prides itself on. Even without the added stress of the events of the last year they would be necessary, but now I feel that they are even more so. Students need help to navigate stressful events such as a global pandemic, political unrest, and racial tensions. 

I know that my struggle with mental health and its relationship to the environment of Franklin Academy is not isolated. While this fact saddens me greatly, it also motivates me in the purpose of my email. I firmly believe that it is time for adequate mental health resources to be introduced into the culture of Franklin Academy. I would like to work with you throughout the process of acquiring these resources. I truly believe that with these resources, Franklin Academy can leave a far greater positive impact on its students and alumni.