Alumna Visits Middle School Mental Health Awareness Field Day

At LJCDS, we know that managing one’s mental health is just as important as maintaining one’s physical health. Throughout the year, the Wellness Team supports students’ well-being in myriad ways. On March 10, Middle Schoolers participated in a Mental Health Awareness Field Day—a day devoted to promoting mental health with an athletic focus.

 

As part of the day’s programming, alumna Niki Castle-Kay ’96 returned to campus to share her own mental health challenges, the tools she uses to manage them, and advice on supporting friends as they navigate difficult circumstances and situations.

 

Niki attended LJCDS from Grades 5 through 12, excelling in athletics and the arts. She was part of the National Art Honor Society and a star athlete in volleyball, basketball, and track, winning the “Best Female Athlete” award all four years. Niki is a proud member of the LJCDS Athletic Hall of Fame as an athlete and member of the 1995 CIF Championship volleyball team. 

After careers in television news and marketing, Niki decided to pursue a path that aligned with her true passion of helping others—she went back to school to become a mental health coach. Helping people with their mental health (particularly teenagers) has proved profoundly meaningful to her, especially through the coaching lens.

As a mental health coach, Niki works with families who have a child struggling with mental health challenges and provides tools and skills that help the family find stability during moments of crisis. She is also a speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Health’s “Ending the Silence” program. 

 

Niki presents at high schools throughout Los Angeles County, educating students, teachers, and parents about mental health, while also breaking down the barriers of stigma by sharing her own journey with mental illness.