Depression Center Unveils 2019 Maxwell Gray Fellowship Project Videos

Two videos produced by the Maxwell Gray Fellowship team were unveiled by the University of Michigan Depression Center on Tuesday, Oct. 22. The videos center on students who struggled with belonging and anxiety as part of the substance and misuse and recovery community, and the LGBTQ community.

Inspired in memory of Maxwell Gray and with funds from the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, the Maxwell Gray Fellowship program has been in existence since 2016.

The 2019 team was led by senior producer Charles Pelham-Ashley (Michigan Dearborn ’12). The two fellows were U-M undergraduate students Erin Burke and Frank Allen.

Zac Howard struggled coping with the loss of his parents and turned to hard drugs. Despite trying to get sober, he relapsed multiple times and found difficulty in school. Eventually, he sought assistance at U-M, graduated with his bachelor's degree and started a master's program in social work. Finding his community to stay sober and mentally healthy was key.

The second video starred Maddi Gale-Laman, who recently graduated from U-M with a master’s degree in social work. She faced debilitating anxiety from the age of six. As a low-income, queer woman, she faced many hurdles in her mental health journey. Her progress was hastened by finding a community where she could openly share her experiences, while practicing self-care.

This year’s project was funded by the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, in memory of Maxwell Gray, and the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Collaborative Innovations Fund at the U-M Depression Center.

 

 

 

About Maxwell Gray

In memory of her son, Laurie Davis Gray established the Max Gray Fund for Depression Research at UCLA in 2014, while the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation went on to support this film project at U-M in 2016. Max Gray was passionate about film, art and music. He graduated from the Gallatin School at New York University in 2010 and worked as an associate at OddLot Entertainment, an American motion picture production company based out of Los Angeles. In August 2013, Max died from depression at the age of 25.

Campus Mind Works

The Depression Center's Campus Mind Works website is designed to simplify access to the wide variety of mental health and academic support resources at the University of Michigan and provide information to help students stay healthy and manage college life. Its mission is to provide resources and information to help U-M students succeed in college while managing a mental illness; and to provide information for families, faculty, staff and students focusing on ways to support a U-M student with a mental illness.