Student Voice of Mental Health Award Winner Rohan Satija on Reclaiming Mental Health Stories

For Rohan Satija, our 2025 Student Voice of Mental Health high school honoree, the connection between storytelling and mental well-being is deeply personal. His own journey began at 11, shortly after immigrating to the United States. It was during this challenging time that Rohan found solace and strength in the world of books.

Rohan soon recognized that many students, particularly in Texas, lacked access to the books and educational resources that had been his lifeline. This realization sparked action, and Rohan co-founded the nonprofit Let’s Learn Foundation. What started with lemonade stands and cookie sales has blossomed over six years into a force for change, donating more than 60,000 books,100,000 school supplies, and 5,000 mental health kits, impacting more than 13,000 students in communities with resource limitations. The foundation makes a point of donating books featuring characters with a wide range of backgrounds, to ensure students can see themselves represented in the stories they read. 

Now 17, Rohan has expanded the foundation to include the Vibrant Voices Project, a monologue-writing program for young people in juvenile detention. Youth are given guidance on writing and performing monologues about their mental health experiences such as navigating anxiety and depression or facing trauma. Rohan has led this program for over 60 young people across three juvenile detention centers.

In addition to leading his own initiatives, Rohan also serves on advisory boards for numerous mental health organizations including Teens4TeensHelp, the Children’s Kindness Network, This is My Brave, and Creative Visions.

The Jed Foundation (JED) created the Student Voice of Mental Health Award to recognize students for their outstanding efforts to raise awareness for mental health issues and encourage help-seeking behaviors in their school communities. The award includes a $3,000 scholarship. Rohan and JED’s college honoree, Nora Sun, received their awards at JED’s annual gala in New York City on June 4, 2025. 

We talked to Rohan about the power of storytelling to safeguard mental health:

What does it mean to you to be the 2025 Student Voice of Mental Health Award high school honoree?

It feels quite surreal. It means the struggles I’ve faced and the work I’ve poured into mental health advocacy since fifth grade have been seen and valued, which means a lot. I never thought I’d get to this point. I’ve admired The Jed Foundation’s mission for so long, so receiving this award from the organization makes me feel empowered to keep going and further my advocacy work.

You say that your mental health advocacy journey began in your school library. Can you share more about that and perhaps a book or genre that positively impacted you?

My advocacy journey began when I immigrated from New Zealand to Austin, Texas, at 10. Being in a completely new place, I felt out of place and struggled with isolation and being bullied for my accent and cultural differences. This led to anxiety and panic attacks, and books became my comfort. I was already an avid reader, but during this time, reading really became a way to take care of my mental health. 

I found escaping into new worlds and relating to characters incredibly helpful. My favorite books featured South Asian characters I could relate to culturally and personally. When they succeeded in their stories, I felt like I had the power to win in my life, too.

A specific example is Aru Shah and the End of Time. It’s a mythological book with a South Asian protagonist fighting a big fantasy battle. It helped me feel seen, like I could succeed too. Learning the power stories have in the library is really where my advocacy began, leading me to support other youth in gaining access to books and supplies, and helping them process emotions through storytelling.

You speak very openly and confidently about difficult experiences like managing anxiety and facing bullying. What has helped you develop that confidence in mental health conversations?

I believe talking openly is the foundation of advocacy because nothing engages empathy and authenticity like stories do. I see sharing my lived experience as a way to help others share theirs. For example, through the Vibrant Voices Project, we use the power of storytelling to help youth in juvenile detention reclaim agency over their narratives.

Stories have an unparalleled power to provide insight, humanize mental health struggles, break down stigma, and shed light on important topics. That’s what inspires me to be open about my own journey — believing it helps others build empathy and understand what it’s like to experience these struggles.

You’ve mentioned that drama therapy was particularly helpful for you. Can you tell us more about that experience and any advice for young people seeking mental health support that feels right to them?

I’m a big advocate for therapy, and drama therapy personally worked well for me. I started around sixth grade as well as doing theater at school. As a very narrative-oriented person, it helped me reshape my story. In sessions, I could write out my struggles as monologues and perform them, which was really empowering. Processing my narrative this way helped me process my emotions. 

It’s beneficial to look at your struggles from an outside, third-person perspective, which drama therapy helped me do. I’ve continued doing theater for six years now because I believe in its power to share stories that engage empathy. My advice for others is to find something that works for you. There are many options, and seeking external support, whether through more traditional therapy or drama therapy, is much better than internalizing struggles.

With all your advocacy work, how do you prioritize self-care?

Coming from an immigrant, South Asian background, there can be unspoken cultural pressure to always succeed. I used to feel that thriving was the only way to justify being here. But I’ve realized rest and self-care are extremely productive. I like to say that self-care is community care. If you’re an advocate aiming to make change, that change starts with taking care of yourself first.

Personally, I protect time each week for things that ground me. I do taekwondo — I’m a black belt — which really helps release stress. Journaling daily is also big for me; it helps me process emotions, and my journal doesn’t get tired of hearing me repeat things! My family is my biggest support system, so prioritizing time with them, like eating dinner together every night and talking about everything and nothing, is super important. All these things help me de-stress, feel grounded, and ultimately, further my advocacy work.

Looking back at your own experiences, what advice would you give a young person struggling with their mental health today?

One thing, which is easier said than done, is to avoid internalizing your experiences and struggles. When I first moved, I felt I should have instantly belonged and excelled. Feeling out of place felt like a personal failure, not a natural response to change, which it was. My advice is to find support that works for you and seek it externally, whether it’s therapy, a school counselor, a friend. It’s much better to speak openly about struggles than to internalize them and let them define your worth. I struggled with that for a long time, feeling unworthy. But there are truly so many support systems out there for everyone.