Avery Addington, a University of Nevada, Reno sophomore, has recently switched her major from Journalism to Agricultural Science. However, prior to changing her major, she had already been dealing with anxiety; now, as a student in STEM, her anxiety has only seemed to increase.
The 20-year-old, from Fresno, California, has always loved the outdoors and wildlife. However, when she went to college, she didn’t have an idea of what she wanted to do – so instead of going into college undeclared, she chose journalism; so she didn’t have to say that she didn’t know what she wanted to do. “I chose journalism as a major, but I realized that I really didn’t like it or the workload.” Said Addington.
When she found her calling in Agricultural Science, she knew how hard it was going to be and took the plunge. “It wasn’t necessarily as hard as I thought it was going to be, but it definitely has its challenges”. Said Addington.
However, recently, Addington has been struggling with her anxiety, specifically towards labs and exams. Although rather than showing invisible symptoms, her body shows physical symptoms, such as getting sick. Although she has come to manage it quite well, it is still a factor in her life that she has to be aware of.
The STEM major brings up an issue that mental health in the STEM community is not acknowledged as well as it can be. “I’m a person too, I have a whole life outside of science: I have friends, family, a boyfriend, a job….” Said Addington.
Addington is currently a hostess at local Italian restaurant La Familia, where she has been employed for the past year. Thankfully there are other hostesses that work throughout the week, however, it also presents a challenge for Addington when she has school work that needs to be attended to.
As one who struggles with anxiety, specifically with school, she is passionate about the subject of mental health and believes it should be talked about more. Especially coming from a town that doesn’t necessarily acknowledge mental health, she believes that if one’s mind isn’t healthy, then how can a person overall be healthy?
“I just realized its importance, and if you don’t take care of it – it can really tear you down.” Said Addington
Alex Psak can be reached via email apsak@unr.edu or on Instagram @alexandrapsak.
