Samantha Schutz '96, Author & Mental Health Advocate, Will Serve As the Class of 2021 Commencement Speaker

We are pleased to welcome our alumni speaker for the Class 2021 Commencement, Samantha Schutz '96, author and mental health advocate.  When Samantha published her anxiety disorder memoir, I Don’t Want to Be Crazy, she got heartfelt letters from readers. Amazingly, many of them said the same exact phrase: “Your book made me feel less alone.” That inspired Samantha and illustrator and mural painter, Annica Lydenberg (@Dirty Bandits) to start @youarenotalonemurals to raise awareness for mental health issues as well as offer support to anyone who feels misunderstood, victimized, or abandoned.

 

Last month, there were 11 murals (6 in NYC, 2 in Texas, 1 in New Jersey, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Brazil) as well as other digital works submitted by artists from around the globe that can all be seen on @youarenotalonenmurals or their website. You can join the project by submitting your own artwork, created digitally or otherwise, on Instagram. See their website for more info.

 

For more info, visit samantha-schutz.com and youarenotalonemurals.com

 

ABOUT SAMANTHA SCHUTZ ‘96

Samantha is the author of the acclaimed memoir I Don't Want to Be Crazy, which was a New York Public Library Best Book for Teens and a Voices of Youth Advocates Poetry Pick. Samantha lives and works in New York City and is a Publishing Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She graduated with honors from Skidmore College with a BA in English/Creative Writing. She lives in Forest Hills Gardens with her infant daughter, Sadie.

 

#Alumni #Classof1996 #CommencementSpeaker #Graduation #Classof2021 #Seniors #Congratulations #TheKewForestSchool #WeAreKewForest #GoJaguars #IDontWantToBeCrazy #YouAreNotAloneMurals

 

Murals by: @dirtybandits, @just_a_spectator, @jasonnaylor, @adamfu,

@kevinadamsdesigns, @blunarwhale, @alequezada1, @mattpaullettering