A Teenager’s Personal Journey of Turning Struggle to National Impact with 16 year-old Taanvi Arekapudi

What if the first step to solving some of the most pressing youth mental health challenges wasn’t a policy or a program, but a peer-supported conversation?

In this episode, we hear how one teenager turned her personal struggle with anxiety into a national platform for change. Through vulnerability, persistence, and advocacy, she’s helping reshape how schools and communities talk about mental health.

We talk about the power of peer support, the importance of listening without judgment, and why giving young people a seat at the table isn’t optional, it’s essential.

This episode is for anyone who believes that teenagers are capable of creating real change with their voices, open hearts, and the courage to speak up, especially when it’s hard.

Early bird pricing for the Champions for Youth Summit ends January 9! Lock in your discounted ticket now and save your seat for three days of powerful learning, connection, and inspiration at championsforyouthsummit.org.

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Transcript

C.J. Stermer (00:01)
you

Welcome to a new type of conversation. With each episode, we’ll meet with inspiring people sharing best practices at the forefront of creating change for our young people. We’ll talk motivations that make a difference in how their lived experience can help empower us to take action and make a difference in the lives of young people where we live. My name is CJ Sturmer and this is the Champions For You Podcast.

What if the most powerful voices in teen mental health weren’t coming from professionals, but from teens themselves? In this episode, I sit down with Tanvi Etta Kaputi, a high school teen and mental health advocate who is proving that age has no barrier to impact. What started as a sixth grade school project to overcome her own challenges with anxiety has led to the first ever teen to teen mental health support book.

This international bestseller has since grown into a revolutionary 24-7 platform called Nexus, a mental health hub for schools, and has created a student-led movement connecting over 800,000 teens nationwide to resources overcoming barriers like stigma, counselor shortages, and costs. This honest and hopeful conversation is a powerful reminder that storytelling and peer support matter.

that creating space for youth voices not only leads to smarter, more human-centric health solutions, but is grounded in the belief that real change happens when we listen to and invest in the leadership of our young people. Tanvi, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I really appreciate it.

Taanvi Arekapudi (01:35)
Thank you. I’m so excited to be here and to get to have a conversation with you. ⁓

C.J. Stermer (01:38)
We talk a lot about mental health when it comes to teens, making sure they’re the right resources, identifying it, having the right conversations with the right people at the right time. But you’ve gotten down this path of really being this giant voice for so many young people and created these amazing programs to help tackle some of the biggest mental health issues that are facing our young people, your peers today.

What got you to this point? What inspired you to go down this path to be such a voice about mental health for your peers?

Taanvi Arekapudi (02:09)
Yeah, that’s an amazing question. And honestly, it started with feeling confused, left out, alone, and anxious. When I was nine years old, I moved from Ireland to the US. It was a big change and I struggled to fit in. The culture shock made me feel like no one would actually ever understand me. I started to go from coloring and laughing in classrooms to battling with panic attacks in silence. And I felt like adjusting into this new place, new classroom, new teachers, new friends, new everything. I felt like I had to change myself.

to fit in. So I smiled when I definitely did not feel like smiling. I acted okay when I wasn’t. The anxiety, the overwhelmed, the isolation, stress, all these emotions, I couldn’t explain it or label it. And I definitely didn’t want to tell my parents, family, or friends about it because I didn’t want to worry them. And I remember being like, well, what are adults and other youth in my life doing with this? So I looked around and I saw everyone was smiling and happy. And when I felt an emotion other than happy,

I thought it was wrong. And I felt like I had to try to act normal, try to act happy all the time, when inside I was struggling. Struggling to see the next day, struggling to feel okay being myself. So I finally had the courage to tell my parents. I distinctly remember like sitting down around the dining table and telling them, I’m dealing with panic attacks. And I was scared to hear what they said. Cause I felt being nine, saying panic attacks was a huge problem. But the first thing they said,

was you’re not alone. And not only did they say that, but my mom suggested a quick mindfulness technique. And really this whole conversation led me to, I guess, two of the biggest like life-changing realizations I’ve ever had. And that was knowing that one, I wasn’t alone. Millions of young people are facing daily mental health struggles even right now. And knowing the stats of 50 % of lifetime mental illness cases start at age 14, it was just wow. But then I also realized that

Youth are struggling and of course as humans whenever there’s a struggle there’s a solution. So I was like, well, what can we do about it? And knowing there was one mindfulness technique, just to be honest, I’m not a very patient person. So even five minutes of mindfulness was not my thing. So I was like, how can I do something quicker than five minutes to help myself? And through COVID, that question of helping myself turned into something much bigger. Cause on Zoom boxes, I saw my peers struggling and faking a smile. So I decided, how can I help myself?

but also those peers in my life. And I started a club called the Teen Empowerment Club when I was 12 years old in sixth grade. After school, youth could just come in, share what they’re going through to feel less alone. And it was such a safe space. And seeing that I could help like a small group of 30 people, I wanted to spread this wider. And that led me to create my first project, the first teen to teen mental health book out there. I want my peers not to have to face all these emotions alone, the struggles alone.

I never want another teen to feel as hopeless as I did in my journey. I’m really passionate about just getting out there, being vulnerable, because I know it can change lives. And that’s my goal. If I can at least help everywhere I go one year in their journey, that’s what fills my cup and brings joy to my day.

C.J. Stermer (05:16)
You talk a little bit about the anxiety that you’re experiencing and the stress and how scary that was, but not just scared to experience, but more scary to talk about with other people. Tell me a little bit more about that fear to talk to adults about what you as a teen are feeling when it comes to anxiety. Why was that so hard for you to communicate?

Taanvi Arekapudi (05:37)
Yeah, so I think the hardest part about being able to open up about my own emotions was I didn’t know that it was okay. I remember being in elementary school learning about like you feel happy or you feel sad if it’s sad, chew it away and always be happy. And so when I felt something other than happy and I didn’t see my peers feeling those emotions, I first of all was confused on like what is this emotion called? How do I name it? And then I was like, I’m nine years old. Like I feel like being in fourth grade, it’s a problem to feel emotions that are different than my peers.

And so unable to have the vocabulary of how to share it, I used to just like cry. And my parents would think like maybe my arm got hurt and that’s why I was crying. But I think I never had the vocabulary to be there and to say, I feel angry or I feel tired. I feel upset. I feel anxious about this test or like even Sunday nights before going to school on Monday, like all those emotions I felt. I didn’t know what to say about it. So I decided to be quiet about it and maybe it’ll sort itself out.

And I think that’s like really the biggest challenge around what I see my peers going through is like we’re never taught, even adults were never taught when they were younger, how to talk about mental health, how to have these conversations and identify what we feel. So I think the big change needs to happen with like our vocabulary and mental health literacy in total so we can feel confident in confidently saying how we feel.

C.J. Stermer (06:55)
Do you find that younger people your age are using different language around talking about mental health or just they’re speaking in it in a way that is different than what we see adults doing?

Taanvi Arekapudi (07:07)
Yes, I think definitely like with social media, not to blame social media, but I think there’s certain words that are used a lot more when we talk about mental health, especially for Gen Z. And when I like, I love actually just talking about emotions or observing people talk between adults and youth to your question. And what I see youth saying a lot is like, this test sucks. I’m like so tired for it or like just stressed. And I think I heard the word tired so many times. I was recently on a speaking tour.

And I asked youth, like, scream out an emotion you felt within the last week, and every single youth said tired. So I think when it comes to mental health, what youth are doing is really to dig underneath. think we’re suppressing our emotions because it’s such a fast-paced world. We don’t get time to understand, acknowledge, or label them. So we’re putting them underneath. And of course, we’re going to physically and mentally tire ourselves out when we’re not bringing our emotions to the surface level. And so every single youth, they’re feeling depressed. They’re feeling tired.

but I think it’s because there’s not a safe space or safe world around them to express what they’re going through. But then I see adults and I think with adults, of course, being older and having more, I guess, experience in the world, I think a lot of them feel more confident to share what they’re going through. And of course, they’re very scared about what others will say about it because they were never doing it when they’re younger. But I do appreciate those adults who are confident enough to share what they’re going through, seek help, but then again, break that stigma and listen to youth when they need that support. So I think adults…

with their vocabulary expanding, with their relationships getting stronger around mental health. I really appreciate and I’m so grateful for those adults who do want to take that step and make sure the next generations feel as comfortable as they are starting to feel around mental health.

C.J. Stermer (08:48)
Yeah,

so you created this amazing book right for teens by a teen to talk about mental health and to provide better vocabulary to make it easier for everyone to communicate on the same level, which I think I agree is super powerful. Why was this book so important? Why was it necessary to create?

Taanvi Arekapudi (09:10)
I remember actually spending hours in the libraries going through the struggles of 9, 10, trying to find a book by someone my age. And I remember like searching for hours on every shelf, but I never found a book from someone my age around this topic, only adults, which made me feel so much more alone. So at 13, when I was able to put that book on the shelf, it made me feel grateful and honored that I could be that person who wrote that vulnerable book so other youth wouldn’t have to spend time.

so many hours in the library to feel a less alone. And to really think about how my book shift the conversation around mental health between youth and adults is the way it’s structured. My book shares my own journey as a young person, all the things we face, feeling overwhelmed, stress, friendship challenges, sibling challenges, testing, COVID-19, all the things that impacted youth. In those challenges, I also share the strategies I’ve used. Over 30 science-backed techniques that helped me, steps on how to do it.

Me being 12 years old and sharing the strategy.

C.J. Stermer (10:10)
How have you seen the conversation between your peers and adults actually get easier?

Taanvi Arekapudi (10:15)
I think having that book, and I noticed a lot when I go to resource fairs, Barnes and Noble, selling my book, a lot of times it’s adults coming up, and this is my favorite part of it, they come up, they look at the book, they kind of flip through it, check out what youth are saying, adults are saying about it, and then they say that they want to get this for their niece, for their nephew, for their cousin, or from someone else in their life who they care about. And a lot of times it’s a youth in their life. And then sometimes I see youth coming along, bringing their parents,

and saying they want to check out the book. it just, just being in that table for 30 seconds, I love seeing the connection it makes to start and be like, hey, mental health is important. I want to give this to someone I care about. And then I noticed like afterwards checking in and people emailing me, a lot of people and adults are saying like, especially young kids, maybe they have like elementary school or middle school or the parent or the caregiver reads the book along with their child and they start to use those techniques together.

they started to ask each other, have you ever felt like this? And then whenever a challenge comes up, they do that technique together. And I noticed that it’s equipping adults with ideas of how they can help and the youth with feeling like, their adult is there for them and they know what to do when their feelings, emotions. So definitely a lot of conversation sparked a lot of youth feeling like their adults really see them more than just the mental health, like about a person, like they see them as a person. And then also how it follows up and has conversation. It doesn’t even need to be in a household.

Like I see school counselors saying the book helped them to have conversations with the youth, because it’s like, I guess I’m the mediator in between through that book. So definitely a lot of conversation sparked.

C.J. Stermer (11:50)
like what you said there. You said the book acts as a mediator between an adult and a teen to be able to talk about their mental health effectively. That’s really powerful. So you’re essentially giving them this tool to not only learn about it, but it’s more about facilitate conversations with someone like you.

Taanvi Arekapudi (12:08)
Yes, and I feel like it’s really interesting to think about. The book, first of all, was a tool for me to be able to see how I can help my peers. Unknowingly, it helped me to acknowledge my own challenges. And it was a very hard emotional battle to write my book, being 12 and just coming out of feeling alone. And then being able to see it impacting youth, adults, and exactly like you said, the next phase of it being a mediator. So very much excited to just continue to see how it’s used as we think about mental health in different ways, especially with like…

the alarming statistics rising among elementary schoolers.

C.J. Stermer (12:41)
You mentioned COVID-19 and especially as a teen and going through the pandemic. I think a lot of us know that it affected a lot of people, especially younger people a lot differently on a mental health capacity. Do you think adults really understand the impact of COVID-19 had on youth mental health? Like do adults really understand what kids went through and do they understand the impact that’s having on them?

Taanvi Arekapudi (13:04)
now. That’s a really fascinating question and this is something that in the recent like couple months I’ve been very excited to understand the difference and I’m as actually part of a research study about like COVID-19 impact on youth and they had educators doing the same and like I spent a lot of my time with like adults who are teaching my teachers and I noticed like a lot of them do think differently about COVID-19 impact than us who have experienced it. The biggest thing is I think they see youth doom-scrolling now on social media and they say

COVID-19 has just made them more addicted to their phones, but I think it’s so much deeper than that. I felt like my family was supportive enough and of course, working from home, it was definitely hard to spend time with them, but I do hear stories or maybe not even hear it, but I can observe other youth whose parents have been extremely busy with trying to like, I guess with all the layoffs that are happening through COVID as well, just trying to like get by each day. And a lot of their parents just didn’t have enough time for the youth.

And there were no community members who could step in. There were no teachers who were that available because they had their own challenges on the other side of the Zoom. So I definitely noticed youth were struggling with feeling like no one was there when they need to be heard. Struggling in silence because even though they know people care about them, at that time it felt like there was no one around. No teacher who cared, no friend that they could talk to. Because even if you get to talk to someone, it’s very limited.

And with masks, there’s a whole connection broken. But not only that, feeling alone, suppressing it, and now it’s so much easier, as all of us know, like to go on social media and to talk. But then being like, what, four years, three years since we came back from COVID, it’s a whole other shockwave because we’re coming in person without masks. We’re scared to show our faces because we’ve never been this in this age, in this way, being ourselves so much. And then I think we’re trying to get comfortable with the idea of people are there, people in person do want to help.

but then there keeps being more challenges that get put on. Like, I feel like this year has been very fast year and youth are finally ready to open up, but then adults are getting busy. And I hope, but I don’t know if there’s ever gonna be a chance where youth will, guess, get compensated for the time they lost around that belonging, connection. Cause when I see like every day, I feel like I see a lot of social anxiety, a lot of youth who feel like no one cares about them, that they don’t matter, a lot of bullying happening within youth cause their own insecurities. But I think the biggest thing is like just…

What I love saying is spark the conversation. But by now, at least now, trying to have conversations that we didn’t get to have before, it can try to reverse the effects of it or at least create a bonding that will be helpful.

C.J. Stermer (15:32)
Fascinating. Honestly, it was really nice to hear a perspective from a young person. I have talked to so many people since the pandemic, but I’ve not actually heard how that’s going for someone that’s actually receiving it on a teen level. So kind of what I’m hearing from you is we all knew the pandemic really messed this up a little bit. And then everyone rushed to go and fix it. Well, how do we be there? How do we combat this? How do we bridge this gap? Do we find that that momentum?

doesn’t feel the same and to your point, kids are starting to kind of slip back a little bit based on what you’re hearing from your peers.

Taanvi Arekapudi (16:06)
Yeah, I definitely think so. And just like thinking about it, COVID happened. We were online for about two years in school. And I feel like maybe just then we’re starting to get comfortable with it. Like just starting to feel like we can connect with teachers, even if it’s online. And then we decided to come back in person. And I feel like the bonds have been very much hard to recreate with our friends, with our teachers. And we still have to fake being ourselves. But maybe since it’s been a couple of years since we got back in person, it will change. And then there’s continuous challenges that keep coming and coming.

But the biggest lesson that I think we’ve all learned is to be present, to be in the moment. By having those connections, having those conversations, we can make all of our time more caring, more passionate. And then also like, we don’t want others to struggle. I think if it’s a human thing, we don’t want to see people we know struggling. And through COVID, it’s messed all of us up. I’m not just saying youth are getting confused and it’s harshly impacted them. I think adults have been impacted in so many ways, especially when like milestones have been missed and big.

parts of what we hear. Whenever I hear my parents saying, when they were younger, they got to play outside with their friends for hours, I’m like, I didn’t get that. But just, guess, being okay with that and just learning about perspectives and trying to reach that level of understanding is at least a possible starting point.

C.J. Stermer (17:21)
100 % it’s so true but it’s nothing is so simple as getting the time to play and the time to be a kid you’re still kind of catch up with that that’s actually really fascinating so you created these emotion cards initially that helped to facilitate the conversation to talk about emotions and then from there we created this nexus for schools program what is the nexus program and what does it do

Taanvi Arekapudi (17:44)
Nexus is a revolutionary one-stop shop for mental health. Made by youth, for youth, vetted by mental health professionals, the big goal is to enhance student well-being. And so far we’ve launched it to 800,000 students. It’s a web-based platform where students can go onto it, learn coping strategies, science-backed, information about mental health, peer stories and blogs, and so much more. It really cuts down a lot of barriers that a lot of us in our own journeys have faced around mental health.

like overwhelming number of resources, spending hours on Google, not even finding like one helpful resource, because it takes a while to find if it’s trusted or not. But Nexus makes it easier because it is already trusted. And the cost of therapy is so expensive and sometimes inaccessible, but Nexus is completely free to access and for schools to launch. And then I think the most important one is school counselors, they’re busy. And a lot of youth, face that as well, trying to get an appointment, waiting actually months to even see my counselor. So.

The goal of NEXUS is to have a resource students can go to while they wait for the school counselor because of course counselors are very important and we’re grateful for the work they do, but it can be hard to find those, get those resources. And of course, since it’s a website, students can feel empowered to help their mental health, but most importantly, feel less alone and more connected through the platform where they can actually see youth wanting to help other youth in their journeys.

C.J. Stermer (19:04)
So it’s a program that is totally free, incredibly accessible by everyone. Where would someone go to learn more about Nexus?

Taanvi Arekapudi (19:12)
Yes, so if you are interested to learn more about Nexus, you can go to the URL nexusforschools.com. And if you’re a community member, you can go to nexusforkommunities.com. And the interesting part about Nexus that I think is the most unique is that we personalize Nexus. It’s that generic website that anyone can access, but also we work with schools, districts, counties, cities to get their resources, their local organizations, and add a Nexus page.

so that students or community members can find their local information through the Nexus website. And we’re all about, like, of course, online help through the website, but in-person events as well. And we’re having a team of over 200 youth ambassadors who are passionate about helping their peers, and we’re excited to grow it. But if you’re listening and you’re an educator and you’re interested in bringing it to your school or district, like mentioned, it’s completely for free, funded by my nonprofit.

and you can reach out, can email me at info at tanvi.us. I’d be really excited to kick start this, get started. It takes less than two weeks to launch and it’s a very simple three step process.

C.J. Stermer (20:18)
So

less than two weeks, there’s a whole community of people that are rallying behind you, not just within the schools. So it sounds like this is really not just tailored for youth by youth, but this is tailored for youth on a local level by youth.

Taanvi Arekapudi (20:31)
And we’re actually like with the youth in the areas that we launch it, we get, we form a little youth group team there. So they tell us like what in their communities is missing, what in their schools are missing, what can we add to the website? And we’re all about being informed by youth, but also a diverse group of youth. As an Irish, Indian, American youth, I know how it can be hard to find yourself reflected through websites or online platforms or even books. So by having Nexus, we have a wide group of diversities that the youth come from.

And I think it’s just really empowering. And I love just seeing whatever, like every single day on the website looking at stats. There’s never a day where a youth doesn’t visit Nexus. And there’s so many returning visitors. The most click box is helping peers. We’re working with the University of Washington, research psychologists to research it, to make it better, to continue to expand it. Because within one year, we got 800,000 students. And within the next couple of months, or even, guess, a year, we hope to launch it to the 80 million students nationwide.

and we do need your support for that.

C.J. Stermer (21:30)
Wow, you have reached 800,000 students so far. That’s a lot of students. When you meet some of these young people, these peers who have used this program or have found it easier to talk about their mental health or have bridge connections with their peers or even bridge connections with adults, what are they telling you? What are you hearing from your peers?

Taanvi Arekapudi (21:48)
I do a lot of focus groups actually because I really do want to hear what the youth are saying. And the biggest thing that I’ve heard is youth saying, like we have this whole anonymous peer story section where youth can submit their challenges, their story, whatever different things they’re facing on the website anonymously. And I love hearing youth saying that they thought that that was their story up there. Like it really reflected their entire journey and their story and they just, they felt less alone knowing.

Like someone within their own school was facing the same challenges. Cause a lot of the youth are like in our classrooms, we all look the same, tired, a little bit frustrated about having to listen to the teacher, but they can really unlock the idea of everyone’s putting on a mask and there’s so much more to what we see. But then they also say like, we don’t learn about strategies anywhere else in our life and having Nexus’s website that they can visit whenever, wherever they want to find strategies for their own mental health.

And it doesn’t even need to be like a whole big thing where they book an appointment for the counselor’s office. They can find it on their phones, on their computers, whatever device they use. They said it’s much easier to do that. And then also youth feeling empowered not only to help themselves, help their peers through the website where we share frameworks, but they’re also excited to help their communities. By joining the Nexus team, biggest inspiration for me to keep going is to see every month we have like 10, 15 youth from different places.

just ready to start on all the different activities that we have for how they can get involved.

C.J. Stermer (23:10)
What are you hearing from young people in terms of the resources that are out there now that come from adults or other types of programs? How are they comparing that to the resources available through the Nexus for Schools program?

Taanvi Arekapudi (23:22)
I’ve asked that question during my own focus groups with youth. And the biggest thing that they’ve said is, of course, other programs are made by adults for youth, which they also find are kind of like helpful, but not relatable in terms of like the challenges adults face when they were like 13 is not the challenges they’re facing now. In a lot of ways, it’s different. A lot of the platforms that are already out there, it’s extremely hard to navigate. Maybe you’re in crisis, you don’t know where to find resources. But what they like about Nexus is we have a crisis signs button.

First thing you see, you click on that if you want to learn about 988, other hotlines you can access. And then it’s just structured with the different tiles, with icons. So students can easily access it. We have an English and a Spanish language. A dyslexic font is coming soon. So we’re all about making it easy to access. Because we know as youth, when we find the need to actually go to a website to get support, it means it’s real. It means it’s something you need right now, right then. So we try to make it easy to navigate, easy to access, and then also have opportunities.

where students can share their feedback. Because of course, every website could have things that it can improve on. And so we’re excited to hear more from the youth about what they’re looking for. And another thing that they also say is really helpful. We have videos made by youth for youth, one to two minute videos of us sharing strategies, the science behind it, and doing it with the viewer of the video. It’s called the Mental Health Minutes Program, kind of like social-emotional learning with a twist on it, because it’s made by youth. And we’ve heard a lot of youth saying they

They just like play that video for themselves, all the different videos they’ve learned strategies and that whenever they’re stressed for a test, it helps them. That’s unique about us, but other adult made hubs don’t have. But then again, I think it’s a good mix of our goal isn’t to like overshadow those hubs, but bring them under the umbrella of Nexus. Nexus means connecting things together. So all the amazing organizations out there who are doing work similar, but in different ways, we’ll share about it in Nexus. Cause it’s really that one stop shop.

for finding resources and we want to share every single resource out there.

C.J. Stermer (25:21)
But

you’ve had the opportunity to talk to, I would imagine, now thousands of peers and people your age about mental health, about this resource and how it’s helped and connected people to a more positive part of their life. How did you know, oh, wow, this program is actually working? This is changing some lives here.

Taanvi Arekapudi (25:40)
Yeah, I feel like to think about that question, before there were any of those memories, I do want to say there were times where felt like this wasn’t impacting youth or it wasn’t reaching the right people or my work wasn’t valuable enough. And I think to start off answering that question, it’s really important for me to think about that was how I started for year, I mean, I guess months, of facing those challenges. But I do remember when I was 12, I think.

It was my first time appearing on media. I was 12 at the time, it was 2022, and I woke up at 4 a.m. in the morning to share my journey and the challenges that I’ve been through as a youth. And sharing that, like, of course, very nerve-racking to be on media for the first time, but I do remember getting an email from a youth who said thank you for sharing my journey, their parent was watching that video with them, and finally asked, have you ever felt like this? And it just, like, warmed my heart and made me feel like…

I impacted at least one person. That’s always my goal wherever I go to impact one person. And when I heard a youth who was brave enough to share that to help them, I knew that my voice had the power to not only make a difference, but change lives around youth because of the message. Like I wish I was that person listening to another youth on media, like to seeing representation around mental health. Cause I think my journey would have been very different, but I’m grateful to be that youth doing that for others.

And then recently actually, I was on a speaking tour sponsored by the healthcare authority. It was a really big time where we got to go to 20 schools, over 5,000 students, middle school, high school, elementary school. And I just got to go around for four days, skipping school, sharing my journey, the struggles I’ve been through about like burnout, procrastination, kindness, bullying, and the nexus. And doing that, like I was really excited because it was such an amazing opportunity. And I just loved seeing youth who are listening.

And then actually just yesterday I got a text on Instagram from one of the middle schoolers who said that it changed their school. The were more peaceful. There was no bullying in classrooms. And they actually like in the hallways heard youth saying, how are you really doing to another? And even they personally felt more calmer and they saw the impact that it made on their peers in their classrooms, in their hallways, in their school. And I think it just really shares continuously that wherever I go, if I have

Like if I continue to remember my mission of helping another youth out there, it does replicate and it does ripple effect into the community. So I think those two moments really stick with me and I’m grateful to have people who are vulnerable enough around this topic to say thank you. I think those really stick with me there.

C.J. Stermer (28:14)
Wow, so this person wrote you weeks after you visited to talk and they mentioned that they saw a noticeable difference. Yes. Between just walking in the hallway.

Taanvi Arekapudi (28:25)
I got a couple of texts from actually each of the different schools that were saying it helped them and one person said their friend is a senior and that was the best assembly they’ve ever been to. And I think it’s just like, was amazing to hear, but it was such an amazing opportunity as well to share with those youth and that community is a rural area. So a lot of different challenges than I guess other schools have. So connecting with those youth and hearing the difference it made was amazing.

C.J. Stermer (28:48)
That’s That’s huge. How does it feel to hear feedback like that? Like what are you feeling right now? Even just remembering that.

Taanvi Arekapudi (28:56)
I feel like it wasn’t me. Like I think after I go to those events and speak and then I come back in my classroom, I’m like another teenager. And then I’m like, when I hear those stories, I usually never take the time to be proud or like to be grateful, I guess about like what I did. I’m always thinking about how can I be better? What can I do next? How can I impact more youth? But those times I hear people saying it touched their lives, I think gives me a second to pause. And I would say like, feel proud of what I did because oftentimes I don’t do that enough. But then I’m also like,

I think I appreciate the youth who speak up. Because I know that when I was in assemblies, not about mental health, I did thank those people who spoke because I think it’s very hard to speak. But then being on the receiving end of it, I’m just still processing it, I guess. But ⁓ I’m grateful that there were youth out there who did want to say that and make that difference and make my day.

C.J. Stermer (29:44)
It’s a good point, right? We have to take our own advice. Gratitude is a part of mental health. have to stop and have gratitude and be appreciative of what we’ve done. Even if we don’t think we did anything, we did something.

Taanvi Arekapudi (29:57)
and talking about taking your own advice. Every single day after that, I’ve just been thinking about whenever I’m in a classroom, I’m feeling like I have to procrastinate. I just talked about why procrastination is a fear of failure. And so I think about that and just trying to process what I said, because I think I was listening to someone else when it was me talking. So I think my brain is a lot to think about, but it’s nice to be able to hear myself and see just like it impacted my own journey that one person is me who had changed.

C.J. Stermer (30:23)
Sometimes your own journey impacts you in ways that you don’t really think about. And I still need to remember that as.

Taanvi Arekapudi (30:28)
Well,

biggest part of being an advocate.

C.J. Stermer (30:30)
Yeah, how to be an advocate, right? Like I’m learning that right now just for you to remember. OK, stop. Take a deep breath. I wish I was doing that when I was a teenager because I was not. No one talked to me about that before, so I’m glad to see that there’s now someone that is a teenager to be able to help make that easier. Because by the time these teenagers get to be in their 40s, they’re going to be a lot better off and be able to talk about it. We’re emotionally aware. Hello, yes, we’re more emotionally aware. That’s 100 % it. I’m curious for you as a teenager. You have your whole life ahead of you.

Taanvi Arekapudi (30:51)
or emotionally aware.

C.J. Stermer (31:00)
What’s next for you? What do you want to

Taanvi Arekapudi (31:02)
I’ve

been asking myself that question a lot recently and I think I want to be a research psychologist the big goal with doing my work I’m like I’ve seen the impact it made but I want to see the research behind it and like a lot more deep diving into that and a big goal is I want to go to Yale for doing research there I just want to explore and I learned a lot from observing what’s going on around me so I want to continue to do that and just just be there in the community be more present and just grow as a person but also I want to uplift more voices in the community in this topic

C.J. Stermer (31:32)
Absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind that’s exactly what you’re going to do. I think it’s admirable too that somebody as a teenager wants to get to research. I don’t have any teenagers that like, I’m going to go to research. Yale as well. Come on Yale. Yes, you’re going to Yale. We’re putting that into the universe for you. Yale is happening. you. So you’ve taught us a lot about mental health for teens by teens and a lot of adults are listening to this right now. Probably feeling empowered to do something from a teen’s perspective.

Taanvi Arekapudi (31:46)
Thank you.

C.J. Stermer (31:59)
How can we empower the folks listening to us to do things differently, to speak differently, to take action differently when it comes to mental health for teens?

Taanvi Arekapudi (32:09)
That’s a really nice question. just want to first of all, for anyone adults out there listening who are excited to hear the answer to this question, just thank you for being here to listen. But also thank you for the work that you do already in the communities because even though you don’t say it, it does mean a lot to us. Whether you’re an educator, work in organizations or whatever the change you do. I think there’s two things that I want to share. The first one that you can do easily is make that step of launching Nexus. And being an adult in your community and being the one who launched Nexus,

representative Nexus in that area. It can make youth want to come to whatever organization you are part of and be that voice because they see the impact it’s had. So definitely think about launching Nexus. Like I mentioned, it’s quick, it’s easy, it’s free, and ⁓ very much youth driven initiative. So we’d love your support there. And the second one, a lot of people say bring youth to the table. And I think that is so important. But to echo that in a different way, I’d say bring youth not only to the table, but to make the difference. Like let’s say you’re doing a project and you want to

share this within the community. Let youth speak on that community event. Let youth represent in that area, bring their youth to those conversations. I’ve been part of probably 20, 30 conferences so far in my journey, and there’s only one conference that was actually youth were leading it, and youth had a voice there. And whenever I go to conferences and be a youth, I feel proud to represent youth, but I’m not the only one struggling. There’s millions of youth in their daily life who are struggling, don’t get the opportunities to speak.

And the biggest way that you can change a youth’s life that you want to do right here right now is to give them a voice. To give them a space where they can freely share what they’re going through. Also who can be the image for their other peers to join that program, showing the work that they’re doing. Because in my journey I realized that the biggest changing point was when I realized I did have a voice and my voice did matter. Not only being brought to the table, being actually part of the table, representing the table, and then continuing ⁓ with my own ideas that I come up with.

that I see my youth struggling with, just listen to them.

C.J. Stermer (34:11)
I’ve talked to lot of adults and I’ve actually talked to lot of younger people and we all agree definitely want to have youth by youth. I think what you said about the conference is really interesting. Yes, you’re getting our opinion, but are we actually at the table? Something I think when I talk to adults about wanting to do that, one of the things I hear a lot is how we’re struggling with the how and we often say just show up where they are. But sometimes that’s difficult for them to obtain without being inside someone’s classroom, which isn’t always the best fit for everyone.

Can you give us some recommendations like from a young person? How do we one find you and then to approach you to give you a seat at our table?

Taanvi Arekapudi (34:46)
Yes, that’s a really good question. I’ve actually been presenting about that same topic in a multitude of different places where they’re asking like, we’re ready to bring youth, we want to have their voices, but like, what do we do, where do we start, and where do we get those youth? And I, of course, like we all know social media, you can recruit youth by like putting out informational posters and flyers. But I think a big way is going to community events. Like part of like the Asian community, I know there’s a lot of events that happen around like dancing, festivals, all that kind of thing. So I think just being there.

Of course, in schools, very busy, very hard to get any kind of time to collaborate or speak to the youth, but try to see within the community where they’re going. Put up posters. Maybe if there’s a coffee shop or an ice cream place that they always go to, going to those kind of places to speak can be really helpful. Or guess trying to get connected to the principal of the schools in some way. I’m struggling with getting connections to school districts, so maybe you are too, but I think try your best to find just one youth to start off with.

who is ready to share their story. And I think that’s such a great starting place. I’m part of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and we have a big Youth Ambassadors team. But I think it starts with sharing that one journey, bringing more youth wanting to help. And then of course, if you have, if you launch Nexus in your area, it’ll make that a hundred times easier because we will get the youth, they already submit their interests through the Nexus website. And then we’ll set up a time for you to come present. We’d love to motivate and to uplift all the voices and organizations in the community through the Nexus platform.

So that’s definitely another way.

C.J. Stermer (36:14)
nexusforschools.com or nexusforcommunities.com. Tommy, thank you so much for your wise, incredible words. And thank you for helping us get a little bit better at being able to talk about mental health in a way that is actually obtainable for young people.

Taanvi Arekapudi (36:29)
Thank you so much, CJ. It was such an amazing time to be here, to share about my work, my journey, and hopefully give anyone listening tips on how they can bring this impact into their own communities.

C.J. Stermer (36:40)
This is it. This is what it’s all about. It’s about creating more opportunities for youth to thrive and to create the change we as adults want most for the next generation. Let this be your call to action. Share this amazing teen story with everyone you know. The only way we can make real change is if we do it together. Thanks always to the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and Prevention Connections for their support. And don’t forget, no matter what you do in this world, go out there and go do good. Thanks everybody. We’ll see you next time.