Santa Ono, the University of Cincinnati president who admitted his past battle with depression stands with his best trophy ever, a Cello trophy. (Photo : Twitter/ Prez Ono)
The University Of Cincinnati President Santa Ono left his more than 70K followers on Twitter and a fund-raising audience in shock after he admitted that he tried to kill himself twice during his teenage years. His admission came after the UC commemorated a student, who took his life by his own hands in 2014.
In the fundraising event of 1N5, Ono said that he wanted to impart that depression is treatable and it's not yet end for the people suffering from the condition because they can still move on with their life, Cincinnati reported. In front of about 200 audience, Ono disclosed that he tried to kill himself by overdosing on cold medication and beers when he was 14. He attempted to end his life again in his 20s.
"There's light at the end of the tunnel. If you have the proper counseling and support, it's really possible for you to move past that and move back into functioning life," Ono said in a statement obtained by the publication. He added that he overcome these conditions and expressed his wish to remove the stigma associated with mental illness
The UC president emphasized that support, medication and seeking professional help made him get through the dark times of his life. On May 22, Sunday, a UC official said that Ono's admission of his past battle with depression was a significant way to address and help students of the university suffering the same condition. The UC is now providing five free sessions of mental illness counseling.
The UC president garnered more admiration from the university professionals as well as students after he shared his life struggle. In Ono's Twitter, he asked to help eradicate the stigma of mental illness. He also requested everyone to support the group 1N5.
My message tonight: There should be no stigma for those with mental illness. I tried to take my own life 2X. We need to support each other
— Santa J. Ono (@PrezOno) May 22, 2016
1N5 is an Indian Hill fundraiser that took its name from the fact that one in five people is suffering from mental illness. The group is centered on helping youth with mental illness. Organizers of 1n5 disclosed that they collected $115,000.
Since Ono assumed the office as the 28th president of the University of Cincinnati in 2012, he has been admired and loved by the students as well as people outside the campus. In 2015, he turned down his annual bonus of $200,000 and instead requested that it would be given to 14 scholarships and charities, according to WCPO.
Aside from the recipients, he asked that $10,000 will be given to the family of the Cincinnati police who was killed while on duty. Ono has not accepted his yearly bonus for three consecutive years since he served as the president of the university. He also rejected an increase to his base salary of $520,000.
Check out an artistic video about fighting the stigma of mental illness:
