UCalgary students win grand prize in video contest with their submission, Growth over Grades

When we think of health and safety on campus, many people will conjure images of fire extinguishers, eye protection or evacuation plans. But Jennifer Bohn, nursing student, and Abigail Skaudis, geography student, envisioned something different. They saw an aspect of health and safety that affects students from every faculty and on all campuses — mental health.

Their artful video, Growth over Grades, won the CURIE Video Contest’s $500 grand prize for its unique take on health and safety, as well as its powerful message. CURIE, the university’s insurance provider, sponsored the contest. 

• Photo above: UCalgary students Abigail Skaudis, left, and Jennifer Bohn, centre, scripted, performed and produced Growth over Grades with the support of Leah Tellier, sessional instructor for the Faculty of Nursing. Photo by Jodi Egan, University of Calgary

Prioritizing mental health

Bohn says the video was created as a subjective work of art that every viewer can use to reflect on their own mental health.

“This semester has been especially challenging for me, and it seems all of my fellow students were reacting to the stress of final projects and exams,” Bohn says. “It feels like a lot of people prioritize school above their mental health, despite it being such an important aspect of our lives.”

When Bohn and Skaudis saw the poster for the video contest asking for student-submitted health and safety videos, they wanted to tackle a topic that would make a difference on campus.

“Students need to know that they are not alone in their struggles, because sometimes a mere conversation can bring progress to mental health,” Skaudis says. “If there is less of a stigma about mental health, then students can have conversations about ways to alleviate the weight they feel and work on feeling better.”

Promoting mental health supports on campus

Another motivation for making their video, Bohn and Skaudis say, was to encourage use of university’s many supports for mental health.

“We know that during this time of year, students are experiencing extra stress because of end-of-term projects and exams, and this stress can feel quite overwhelming,” says Debbie Bruckner, senior director of the Wellness Centre. “It’s important that students reach out for help to peers, professors, the online and physical resources at the Wellness Centre as well as peer support.”

At the Wellness Centre, students can make use of wellness training, workshops and after-hours support with partnerships from the Distress Centre and Wood’s Homes.

“Many of us cannot easily get past the stress; it can be a huge challenge and there are many resources to assist students,” she adds.