Full House for Talk on Mental Illness and the College Experience

Hakeem Rahim (center) with MMC students after his Conversation on Diversity Talk

Nearly 70 students, faculty and staff joined guest speaker Hakeem Rahim in the Regina Peruggi Room as he discussed mental illness via his journey as a college student on November 13, 2013.  Diagnosed with bipolar disorder during his sophomore year at Harvard University, Rahim struggled yet managed to thrive during his undergraduate years. Attendees were moved by his honest and dynamic first-person account of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in college and living well with it in the years since.  “His talk helped us as a community to think through mental illness as a diversity issue and to better support those in our midst who grapple with it,” said Katie LeBesco, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Hakeem Rahim holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and dual masters from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. He is certified in de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking methodologies. Hakeem is a graduate of iPEC, an accredited life coach training institute. He is the Co- Founder and Co-President of a Uniondale based non-profit, UFEE and is a certified NAMI In Our Own Voice speaker. He is the owner of Live Breathe, LLC, a professional consultative services company that focuses on educational consulting and mental health advocacy.

The event was sponsored by the Conversations on Diversity Committee.

Published: November 14, 2013