SPS Theater Company packs the house for Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”
November 15, 2024
A collaboration among Sixth Formers takes stress management strategies global.
by Larry Clow
When it comes to dealing with stressful situations, Linus Seruma ’25 knows he has options. Long bike rides and listening to music help, and if he needs to talk, he knows he can rely on his friends Josh Samuels ’25 and Ethan Maggio ’25.
“If I ever need to talk to them, I know I have an outlet,” Seruma says. “And sometimes the best thing someone can do is listen.”
But the three friends know that other students might not have access to those coping strategies, especially in countries where there is more social stigma around issues related to mental health. That awareness led to the creation of JUMP Stress, a project to bring stress management strategies to teens around the world. Seruma, Samuels, and Maggio organized a conference in Uganda in August 2024, an event they all say had a positive impact on them and the students they met.
We learned a lot of new perspectives and made a lot of friends,” Maggio says.
Students everywhere have to deal with stress every day. But the three recognize that SPS is a uniquely supportive environment where talking about mental health concerns is accepted and encouraged. The Living in Community (LinC) program and other mental health and stress management resources at SPS inspired JUMP Stress, according to Seruma. His father is from Uganda, and Seruma has teenage friends and family there.
“LinC was the first time for me that a school offered techniques to help manage the way I live, and that was an experience I saw was missing in Uganda,” Seruma says.
When teens don’t have positive coping strategies for stressors in their lives, they can face very real negative consequences. Those consequences can start small — headaches, poor sleep, feelings of isolation — but without a proper response, they can lead to risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use. The problem is acute in Uganda. According to the World Health Organization, teen suicide rates in sub-Saharan Africa are among the highest globally, and studies have shown that 60-71 percent of students ages 12 to 24 have used addictive substances, with alcohol as the most common.
“I thought about the services here and I know those same things aren’t offered in Uganda. Information about mental health awareness isn’t as accessible there as it is here, and I wanted to bridge that gap,” Seruma says.
JUMP stands for “Joy, Unity, Mindfulness, Prevention,” and the concept of unity is meaningful to the project’s success. The three cofounders have been friends since their first days at SPS. Samuels has an interest in neurology and saw an opportunity to advocate to others how stress can affect the brain. Maggio’s passion for mental health advocacy and stress management is personal; his aunt died by suicide. Also on the project team is Jamila Kariisa, a friend of Seruma’s who attends school in Mombasa, Kenya.
“I thought about the services here and I know those same things aren’t offered in Uganda. Information about mental health awareness isn’t as accessible there as it is here, and I wanted to bridge that gap.”
Linus Seruma ’25
Bringing stress management strategies to students in another country is no easy task. Seruma, Samuels and Maggio created a website and social media accounts to promote the conference, collaborated with the nonprofit Women of Purpose International to help manage donations to fund the conference, and worked with Kariisa to connect with schools, media outlets and experts in Uganda.
“It was challenging to develop the event and raise awareness,” Samuels says. “We did some radio interviews with stations in Uganda and used our Instagram account to promote the event.”
Simply raising awareness about mental health concerns in the country was challenging, according to Maggio. “There’s a cultural view that (mental health) isn’t real; we were worried that people would criticize the event or deem it not worthwhile.”
The daylong conference was a success, however, drawing approximately 200 students ranging in age from 13 to 22. The three cofounders developed presentations on stress management strategies like art and music therapy and invited Dr. Edward Bantu, a professor of counseling psychology at Uganda’s Kabale University, to deliver a keynote address. During the second half of the day, attendees took part in breakout sessions to discuss how stress affects them and had the chance to ask questions. The experience was as beneficial for the organizers as the students who attended.
“We learned a lot from them, especially during the breakout sessions,” Samuels says. “Some of the things stressing them out are unique to their lives — they have more financial struggles and a lot of kids have to work regular jobs from a young age. It gave us a whole new perspective.”
Even as they look ahead to college, the three hope to keep JUMP Stress going, using their internet presence to share content about stress management, mindfulness and mental health awareness and ideally hosting another conference. Samuels says the experience has encouraged him to continue studying neuroscience as part of his education, while Maggio plans to study political science in college and Seruma plans to pursue applied math and economics.
For Seruma, Samuels and Maggio, bringing stress management strategies and mental health awareness to teens in Uganda has encouraged them to think both locally and globally and advocate for themselves and others.
“JUMP Stress helps empower people to take control over their own mental well-being,” Seruma says. “Sometimes the best way is through community support, and we’re blessed that SPS has fostered that and helped us understand how important it is.”
