ABQ Times

Most 17-year-olds spend their senior year of high school contemplating their future impact on the world. Evan Chang, however, has already made significant strides in mental health education.

Chang, an Eagle Scout—an honor achieved by less than 4% of Boy Scouts—used his leadership skills to create the "Mental Well-Being in Adolescents Program" during an internship with The University of New Mexico's Project ECHO.

His motivation is deeply personal. "It was an unfortunate story," Chang recalled. "Back in my ninth-grade year, I played varsity soccer at Albuquerque Academy, and my teammate committed suicide." This tragedy followed another suicide at his school that same year. "We weren't sure how to cope with it," he said. "The soccer team felt at a loss."

In response to these events, Chang facilitated a large suicide prevention awareness ribbon display at his school as part of his Eagle Scout project. Soon after, he joined UNM’s Project ECHO team as an intern, where he developed the program with assistance from Kimothi Cain, MD, MPH, and support from the ECHO Education Team.

The program targets Scout leaders through three educational modules: Understanding Mental Well-Being, Regulating Emotions and Emotional Intelligence. These are delivered virtually to encourage leaders to foster meaningful conversations within their troops and families.

Multiple Albuquerque-area Scout troops participated eagerly in the program's launch. Sarah Longbotham, a Scout parent who attended a presentation for Troop 220, noted that the topics were enlightening for all ages.

“There are kids that aren't living with their parents,” she said. “There are kids that have food insecurities... Everything that our friends go through as adults... kids are kind of going through it with them.”

Leaders and Scouts learn empathy and how to recognize signs of depression or other mental health disorders while seeking help for themselves or others.

“I definitely learned a lot,” stated Ernest Maestas, assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 220. “I've had education throughout my lifetime... but getting it from Project ECHO was a whole new experience.”

Maestas led discussions on anxiety and stress management as part of the program's efforts to build youth protection networks.

“Youth protection is what we do," Maestas explained. He emphasized understanding internal threats and providing support networks for open dialogue about mental health issues.

In its initial months, Chang’s program has received positive feedback from Scouting communities. His next steps include collaborating with the Albuquerque Police Department’s Project ECHO wing to extend outreach to police officers and high school students while integrating mental health awareness further into Scouting programs.

Despite being busy with his senior year commitments and uncertain about his future beyond Scouting and Project ECHO, Chang remains optimistic about higher education opportunities: “I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping I get into some schools.” With interests spanning public speaking to law, Chang is exploring career possibilities but maintains a strong foundation according to Cain: “He has a very bright future.”

Cain finds hope in young people like Chang who approach societal issues from public health perspectives: “They give hope for the future of society... individuals who think from a perspective of public health."

Accordingly aligned with Boy Scout Law principles such as bravery—which includes discussing challenging topics—Chang hopes other young people will also be inspired by his work toward creating positive change globally.