A Room of their Own
by Kevin Fritz
Picture, if you will, a space with a Zen Garden, yoga mats, and board games. In the corner, a relaxing couch, cushiony chair, and floor pillows beckon those who enter, all complemented by soothing earth tones and murals adorning the walls.
This calming environment, known as the Ram Student Lounge, is all in the name of wellness. The recently opened space offers a safe place where Lake Mary High School students can take a break if they need to regroup mentally, physically, or emotionally.
“Kids are very stressed,” said Dr. Mickey Reynolds, LMHS principal, when she hosted an open house for the lounge in October. “Experts say our current mental-health situation is the second wave of the pandemic. That is why our timing on this space today is perfect.”
The open house coincided with welcoming Kimberly Compton, a licensed clinical social worker, brought on board to counsel students who are seeking guidance when they visit the lounge.
“I wanted a dedicated employee to staff the lounge throughout the day,” Dr. Reynolds says, “but I could not free up any personnel.”
Seth and Marie Bernstein, whose daughter Reagan is an LMHS sophomore, made the hiring of Kimberly possible. Known for their philanthropy, the Bernstein family donated $150,000 to staff the new lounge for two years and purchase necessary supplies and resources, but that was only the beginning of their generosity.
“Mental health is a serious issue that is really going to take its toll if we don’t start taking care of it,” says Marie, who serves on the board of directors for Kids House of Seminole, the county’s children’s advocacy center that aids young victims of abuse or neglect. “We need Kimberly here at our school so the students have someone to talk to.”
Shortly after the Ram Student Lounge opened, a mother reached out to Marie at a school function. The mother said she was nervous to approach Marie, but she wanted her to know what the lounge means to her daughter. The mother said her daughter suffers from severe anxiety and had visited the lounge a few times already. Just knowing the lounge is there and available, she said, has changed her daughter’s entire perspective on the school day and brought her priceless peace of mind.
Immediately after the conversation, Marie phoned Dr. Reynolds and committed to fund the Ram Student Lounge for an additional eight years, ensuring the room and its on-staff social worker will be at Lake Mary High for an entire decade.
Dr. Reynolds explains that the catalyst for the lounge at LMHS was a student suicide on campus in 2019. In the wake of the tragedy, teacher Stephanie Jordan contacted the Unbreakable Organization, a nonprofit group created by a teacher at South Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, that assists schools in designing safe spaces.
“If a student is breaking down, they don’t want to do that in front of other students,” says Dr. Reynolds. “There was a lot of isolation for students during the shutdown, and some lost parents. That’s why this space is a priority. I see a real need for this at every school.”