Mt. Pleasant High School students win statewide award for suicide prevention video

Still grieving over the suicide death of a friend and classmate last year, three Mt. Pleasant Area High School students jumped at the chance to help promote suicide awareness and prevention.

Senior Jillian Gearhart and sophomores Ashlynn Scherer and Bryce Jaworkski were told during a school assembly for the Council on Substance Abuse for Youth club program that Prevent Suicide PA was sponsoring a statewide contest for students to submit public service announcements.

So, late last year the trio submitted a 60-second video to the Harrisburg-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing suicide in the state. The organization narrowed dozens of submissions to three finalists in January, and then announced a live public vote would decide the winner.

Gearhart and Scherer, also part of the student mentoring program, were headed to Seven Springs Resort to assist with the three-day Special Olympics skiing event there Feb. 7 when they received an email from the nonprofit that Mt. Pleasant Area had won.

“I was getting ready and I was yelling to my younger brother, ‘We won, we won, we won! I couldn’t believe it,’” Gearhart said.

In addition to planning, filming and editing the video, the trio wanted to put their efforts toward letting “others know there is help out there,” Scherer added.

“We know someone who committed suicide, so the subject was up close and personal to all of us,” Scherer said.

“There are people willing to listen to any problems,” Gearhart said.

During the video, which was filmed in black and white, Scherer is seen roaming school hallways alone while some signs of people who may be contemplating suicide appear in writing across the screen. No words are spoken during the minute-long video, but screen text describes a person becoming withdrawn from others, making statements of “wanting to die” or wanting to harm themselves.

Later, Scherer is shown walking through the hallway speaking with Gearhart, and later speaking with a faculty member. The video directs people who may suspect someone of wanting to harm themselves to “talk to them and listen to what they have to say.”

“Remember, you are not alone,” the video states.

The video concludes by displaying the phone number for National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-TALK [8255].

“I’m really proud of the students. Suicide is a problem that needs talked about and can’t be ignored,” said Mt. Pleasant CSAY advisor Jodi Ovitsky, a chemistry teacher at the school.

“There were various categories to enter in addition to the 60-second public service announcement. There was a contest for best poster and a 30-second public service announcement video, but these kids chose to get the longer message out there,” Ovitsky said.

Ovitsky also served as unofficial promoter of the Mt. Pleasant Area trio, emailing and sending alerts out to the community to cast votes between Jan. 20-31.

Also assisting was lifeskills instructor Jill Bradley, who is advisor of the Leadership, Experience and Opportunity Club.

“This is a very positive thing (Mt. Pleasant) did that brings recognition to our region, and suicide in schools is something that needs awareness,” said Julie Lovis, director of Westmoreland County Drug and Alcohol Prevention Services.

The video, will be posted on preventsuicidepa.org for the next year, notes that 2,000 people commit suicide every year in Pennsylvania.

The students will also be honored at a Pittsburgh Pirates game May 9, where the video will be played before the game.

Frazier School District in Fayette County won the 30-second category. Somerset Area School District received an honorable mention in the 60-second video category.