Meet the newest Makin’ It Happen staff member, Emily Tyler! Emily joins us as the Community Impact in the 603 Coordinator, where she will help expand and develop the Community Impact focus area. We decided to sit down with Emily and get to know her more.
Q: What landed you at Makin’ It Happen?
Emily: I just graduated from St. Anselm’s College with a degree in psychology. Throughout that time, I was a Psychology Ambassador, so I worked within the school to do different mental health initiatives, have conversations with students about mental health, host advice panels, and really try and build community at the college. I also volunteered with Access Academy, where Manchester youth are able to earn high school credits at St. Anselm’s. With my degree, I really wanted to work somewhere where its mission was focused on mental health and wellness.
Q: Why are you interested in the field of prevention?
Emily: I have a lot of family members that live with substance use disorder, and I know a lot of them did not receive prevention tools to help them. It’s something that I’d really love to see in substance use prevention – reaching a wider audience. Mental health prevention is also really important to me because it’s not as easy as people think, and it’s also not as simple as it may seem.
Q: What are your passions? Personal and professional!
Emily: Professionally, mental health is a big passion of mine. Building community, empowerment, resilience. Personally, I really love to bake. My dad owned a bakery for 20 years and I would help him at his bakery, so that fueled my love for baking. Especially gluten free and dairy free baked goods – I’m always trying to find recipes that don’t taste bad!
Q: What would you like to achieve at Makin’ It Happen?
Emily: Good question! I think, honestly, building relationships in the community. Help people succeed, give them what they need to help them thrive & grow.
Q: What are your ultimate career goals?
Emily: I have no idea! I know that I want to do something around mental health, but I am just looking for something that just feels really good while I’m doing it. Something that I feel is achieving my higher purpose in life, which is helping people.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
Emily: I like to go kayaking, walk around in nature, and hang out with my friends. I also have a 17 year old cat at my parents house that I visit because she’s elderly. We sit outside on the patio because that’s her favorite spot.
We’re so excited to have Emily join our team and jump right into prevention for the Greater Manchester Region!
