My flight is finally booked; I’ll be going to The MINDS Foundation’s site at Sumandeep Vidyapeeth (medical school) in Vadodara, Gujarat, India in August!

With the help of The MINDS Foundation Program Staff, Lennox Byer ’12 & Mehul Solanki & Raghu Appasani ’12, I have been able to pinpoint a couple of tasks for my trip. A couple of items on this list are visiting some of the families of those who are currently in our programs to collect their stories, meetings with local businesses to collaborate with, and refining our phase III rehabilitation programs. I have also had the opportunity to speak with some Wesleyan alumni, whom I was introduced to by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, to get their input on some of the ideas that we have for our phase III programs. It is important to get as much planning done before I get to India so that I can accomplish many tasks and I do not get caught up in the planning stages. However, I’ll also have to be flexible and keep an open mind while in India!

Along with planning my trip to India, Rehan Mehta ’14 and I are working on developing the MINDS chapter at Wesleyan this coming year. We are planning on having some great events throughout the year to spread awareness about MINDS. Some things to look out for are: lectures by MINDS board members and professionals in the field of mental health, a squash tournament, and a presentation on my trip to India. The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, especially Makaela Kingsley ’98, has provided me with great support throughout the whole process of planning my trip and developing the MINDS chapter at Wesleyan.