In a world where wins and losses often dominate headlines, one student-athlete on the Cornell College campus is reminding teammates that mental health is the ultimate victory.
Student-athletes often spend all their time focused on their physical health, pushing aside mental health in favor of the more exciting and visible prospect of winning the next event. Morgan’s Message, one of the newest student organizations on campus, hopes to end the stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health.
Junior Brianna Risley ’27 brought Morgan’s Message to campus after doing a presentation on female athletes’ mental health for her Health Education Methods course last year. Risley’s passion for mental health drove her not only to become an ambassador for the program but to establish a chapter on the Hilltop.
“After I went through a couple of meetings with Morgan’s Message and learned about how other ambassadors set up chapters at their schools, it was a no-brainer to me that I would do what it took to get it started here,” Risley said.
The process took longer than she expected, but as she got other students involved, gathered signatures, and established the group with formal Student Senate approval, Risley found many people who were interested in the program, making the entire process well worth it. The group has already had multiple events, with many more in the works.
“Dedication games bring awareness to the issue, and any team can really come to us and ask to do this. So far, volleyball and soccer have been really passionate about the organization,” Risley said. “When this happens, they start the game with a speech recognizing Morgan and Morgan’s Message, followed by nine seconds of silence. Throughout the game, people can come and get more information and, if they want, purchase awareness stickers or donate money to the program.”
Morgan’s Message started in 2020 after a Duke athlete died by suicide. Her parents started the program to help bring awareness to the topic of athletes' mental health by recruiting high school and college ambassadors across the U.S. to spread the message. The nine seconds of silence before a dedication game represent Morgan’s jersey number. Cornell student-athletes also wear a teal ribbon–chosen due to Morgan’s love of the color–to show their support of the cause. Money raised by the organization is used for research, establishing new programs, and hosting more events to continue to spread awareness.
“We want to host events like a spikeball tournament and a 5k walk/run, participate in Chalk the Walk in the spring, and continue dedication games throughout the school year,” Risley said.
Risley plans on continuing this passion in her future by getting a master's in sports psychology, advocating for athlete mental health while assisting with their performance.
“I hope that Morgan’s Message sticks around and passionate students continue to lead this program in the right direction, so when I come back and visit as an alum, I see it still happening and can come to a dedication game in the future,” Risley said.
For now, she wants students to know that mental health isn’t just for athletes, so anyone can get involved with this group.
“We want this to grow and become as big of a part of the community as possible,” Risley said. “You don’t know how the small things will impact someone’s life, and I think it will ultimately make a big change at the college.”
Up next is a brain break from 1–3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the SAW. Morgan’s Message is hosting this event to help reduce stress as finals approach in Block 4. This will provide a chance to get away from studying, but also includes activities like pickleball and volleyball.