STUDENT: Rhiannon Depew
ADVISOR: Dr. Kelley Wagers

The pandemic was hard for everyone, no matter where they stood or however many privileges they had. It brought with it a lot of pain physically because of the illness itself, but it also put a strain on everyone mentally. With people having to deal with the losses of their loved ones and jobs, the stress of staying financially stable, and having to change so dramatically, anyone could have predicted that there would be a change in mental health. However, no one could have predicted how dramatic a change it would be, with many studies showing the effects on the suicide rate. This increase to the statistics before continued to climb not only during but after the pandemic was first becoming large, with people having to return to what they used to see as a normal life. This then became a question of how to return to what we once were, with the suicide rate reflecting the struggle of those that could not recover. The problem now approaching is how to prevent more of an increase, and the only way it can be solved is to not only understand the figures but also humanize the numbers.