Fourteen students learned about maintaining healthy relationships in a Mustangs For Mental Health event today during Mod 1 of Ac Lab. 

This event featured Olivia Standerfer, Safe Connections prevention educator, who came to speak about maintaining healthy relationships. 

Majoring in psychology and sociology, Standerfer knew she wanted to help keep people healthy and happy. 

“I just think young people especially need to know different signs of what’s healthy and what’s unhealthy in relationships,” Standerfer said. “We get so much from what is treated as okay from movies, and the news, and social media, and it’s like ‘well if my life doesn’t look like that, then it’s not right’.”

Standerfer recommends students look into “Teen Groups,” a tight-knit group of 10-12 teenagers and therapists aimed to increase mindfulness, regulate emotions and become more effective in relationships in this group. More information can be found on Safe Connections.

Kambria Rolph, senior, is an officer for Mustangs for Mental Health, and attended the meeting. 

“I think it’s good, especially for friendships, to know if someone is being toxic and how that can impact your mental health,” Rolph said. 

Rolph said Mustangs for Mental Health plans to do a follow up meeting after to reflect on what was said. Mustangs for Mental Health meets once a month during Ac Lab in social studies teacher Ashley Hobb’s room.

Passionate for mental health, Hobbs decided to sponsor the Mustangs for Mental Health this school year. 

“The focus of the club is providing an outlet for how we can be healthier, both physically and mentally,” Hobbs said. “We also focus on being comfortable talking about mental health, which also includes mental illness and helping to reduce the stigma surrounding it.”  

Each of Mustangs for Mental Health’s monthly meetings focus on a different mental health related topic. In January, they hosted a yoga session during Ac Lab, and earlier in the year, the club focused on sucicide prevention. 

“Mustangs for Mental Health participated in a walk to raise awareness for suicide prevention,” Hobbs said. “We had several club members who shared the fundraising page and we raised almost $3,000 for that organization, and I think given the fact that it happened right away in our first month of school and to be able to do that was really cool.”

Along with sponsoring the club, Hobbs also incorporates mental health into her psychology classes. 

“Helping to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness is the main reason that I became a psychology teacher,” Hobbs said. “I just think that not talking about it is what is literally killing people in our society.”

After Hobbs promoted the Standerfer to Luke Ahrens, senior, in his AP Psychology class, he was convinced he should go.

“Mental health is important to me because I want to stay healthy and build good relationships with people,” Ahrens said.

Ahrens was looking forward to hearing the speaker talk about building relationships in college.

“I want to hear her talk about relationships and college and how that’s affected, and also about the move from graduating high school to college,” Ahrens said.

This story was originally published on Marquette Messenger on February 11, 2026.