Aina Aspal & Manaal Syed

Carrying Forward a Mission: CURESZ at Wayne State University

By: Manaal Syed & Aina Aspal

As rising seniors in the public health honors program at Wayne State University, we continually reflect on what it means to not only study health, but to practice it as a daily ethic. Public health has taught us that a disorder is never solely biological: it is also social, cultural, and structural. That recognition pushed us to turn theory into action. For a long time, the two of us searched for a way to bring together our academic training, our commitment to service, and our lived experiences as South Asian women into something concrete for our larger community. That opportunity came when we co-founded the Wayne State University chapter of CURESZ.

The mission of CURESZ—centered on schizophrenia and related psychiatric brain disorders—resonated with us immediately. These conditions reveal one of the sharpest divides between science and society. Medically, progress has been significant, but socially, the field remains shrouded in stigma. Too often, individuals with schizophrenia are seen not in their full humanity, but through the lens of fear and misunderstanding. As future healthcare providers with strong interests in psychiatry and public health, we saw in CURESZ the chance to confront silence through education, awareness, and advocacy.

Wayne State is the place where this mission began. Our university reflects the resilience and diversity of Detroit, while also bearing the weight of longstanding inequities. Nearly half of undergraduates are eligible for the Pell Grant, and a majority identify as first-generation college students (WSU EMI Toolkit, 2024). Many, like us, are children of immigrants. Within our own households, silence around mental health was the norm. As young women, we saw how emotional struggles were brushed aside—sometimes in the name of endurance, sometimes to preserve family reputation. These early experiences left us determined to change the narrative for ourselves and our peers. Founding a chapter at Wayne State was not only about serving our campus: it was also a way of repairing absences in our own lives.

Our first tabling event demonstrated just how needed this was. We set up a trifold poster, flyers, and pins, expecting a few curious glances. Instead, students stopped. They asked questions, had real conversations, and, in some cases, shared their own stories. Some spoke about relatives living with schizophrenia, while others opened up about their own experiences with anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder. One student told us that simply seeing the word “schizophrenia” on our poster made them feel less invisible. In that moment, we realized that recognition itself is a medicine: absence wounds, while acknowledgment heals.

Our focus on schizophrenia is intentional. It is still one of the most misunderstood and isolating conditions in medicine. Public perception is shaped more by sensationalized portrayals than by science. Unfortunately, families find themselves navigating not only the disorder but also discomfort from friends, neighbors, and even their own communities. Yet research shows that with treatment, support, and understanding, stability and recovery are possible. In many cases, the real barrier is not the disorder itself but the stigma and isolation that follow. Through CURESZ, we aim to challenge misconceptions—replacing alienation with empathy, and misunderstanding with truth. We want schizophrenia to be approached on our campus with nuance, rather than reduced to caricature.

Our training in public health strengthens this mission. Psychiatric disorders are inseparable from the social determinants of health: housing, employment, education, and access to healthcare. At Wayne State, many students juggle heavy coursework alongside jobs, family responsibilities, and financial stress. For those managing psychiatric disorders, these pressures can be overwhelming. Cultural expectations can make the burden even heavier, particularly when stigma discourages people from acknowledging their struggles or seeking support. Thus, we want Wayne State to be a campus where these struggles are not hidden but validated, and where seeking help feels natural, not exceptional.

From the beginning, we wanted our initiatives to extend beyond awareness and into action. This past April, we partnered with our university’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to host a Mental Health First Aid training led by Dr. Stephanie Kastely. The four-hour interactive session brought together more than 50 students through collaborations with student-run health organizations across campus. Participants learned how to recognize signs of mental health and substance use challenges, respond appropriately, and connect individuals with professional resources, earning an Adult Mental Health First Aid certification upon completion. The event reinforced our belief that mental health advocacy involves equipping students with the skills and confidence to support one another.

We plan to extend this momentum across Southeastern Michigan. Research suggests that adolescence is a critical period for shaping attitudes toward mental health. By helping young people develop a vocabulary for mental health, we can shift the narrative before stigma hardens into denial. That is why we are reaching out to high schools and community organizations, particularly those in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. If students can name what they feel and recognize warning signs in those they care about, the trajectory of a life can change.

In spring 2027, we intend to facilitate a 5K fundraiser at the Detroit Riverfront. For us, it will represent more than a fundraiser: it’s a public act of collective acknowledgment. Seeing students, families, faculty, and community members walking side by side will be a public statement of solidarity—one in which psychiatric brain disorders are acknowledged, supported, and discussed with compassion rather than whispered about in fear.

CURESZ at Wayne State is not just another student organization. It is the fulfillment of a long-standing commitment. As aspiring health professionals, we have always sought to engage in work that reaches beyond the classroom and into the community. Psychiatry demands more than medical knowledge; it requires empathy, cultural awareness, and an understanding of the social factors that shape mental health. Leading CURESZ is our way of practicing what we intend to carry into our careers by blending science with compassion and knowledge with advocacy.

Being part of CURESZ has also changed us personally. Each time a student shares their story, our conviction deepens. Each time a peer asks for resources, we are reminded of the trust placed in us. And each time we open these conversations within our own families, we feel a quiet shift in patterns that once kept mental health in silence. Our efforts are not only outward-facing—they are also reshaping the contexts we come from.

What we hope to build is not a moment, but a culture: a campus where mental health is spoken of as naturally as classes and internships; where schizophrenia is understood with nuance; and where seeking help carries no weight of shame. We want Wayne State to be a place where the next generation of clinicians, researchers, and advocates learn that effectiveness and empathy are not competing virtues, but rather, inseparable ones.

Reference: Wayne State University (EMI Toolkit). (2024). Public Agenda. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from https://publicagenda.org/resource/emcs/case-studies/wayne-state-university-emi-toolkit/