WILMINGTON — The mission of Salesianum School is to develop the whole person, according to school president Tom Kardish. Part of that, he said, in addition to providing an education, brotherhood, spiritual development and a supportive community is “a strong support system for holistic health.”
Salesianum bolstered its commitment to that final point during a Jan. 9 ceremony to dedicate the Hynansky Wellness Center, created thanks to a landmark gift from John Hynansky and Lexi Hynansky Vadas in honor of Nicholas Vadas, a 2023 Salesianum graduate. The center, located between the school cafeteria and the athletic offices and locker rooms, provides a space for students and teachers to receive mental health assistance.
The center houses the school’s three full-time and two part-time counselors, a space for telehealth services and an informal gathering space known as Sean’s Room. Salesianum becomes the latest school to add a Sean’s Room, named after Sean Locke, a Saint Mark’s High School graduate who took his own life in 2018. That area will be used for peer counseling, group meeting and other programs connected to Salesianum’s overall wellness efforts, according to the school.
“Salesianum students are experiencing instances of anxiety and depression at higher rates than ever before,” the school noted in a press release. Kardish said the wellness center is there for any student who needs help.
“We want no stigma associated with seeking help for depression, anxiety or addiction,” he said.
Hynansky Vadas said her son, Nicholas, struggled with his mental health while a student at Salesianum during the covid pandemic. Nicholas began as a freshman at Salesianum, transferred out for his sophomore year but returned for his final two years of high school. Hynansky Vadas said she has had family members — including her children — struggle with mental health, so she wanted to make a gift to the school that would go toward those resources.
“The school was so supportive of my son when he was going through a difficult time,” she said in an interview after the ceremony. “I don’t think he would be the kid he is today had he not come back to Salesianum and had the support systems that they have here. I wanted them to have a space that was safe and bigger.
“That was most important for me as a legacy for what the school did for my son.”
One of the people at Salesianum who helped Nicholas Vadas was Pat Dever, a 1991 graduate who is the school’s wellness director. He told the assembly that he had envisioned a space like this for 15 years and thanked all of those who helped make it a reality.
“I can’t believe we are finally at this moment,” Dever said. “I wanted a warm, bright, inviting place to chill, a safe spot. You can come, you can relax, you can reset, or you can receive hope. You can get through whatever you’re struggling with.”
Nicholas Vadas said he realized while he was a student that something was not right, and he reached out for help. He learned that there were others in similar situations.
“Being able to come here now and see that people who are struggling — and might not necessarily want to talk about it — have this space … it makes me really happy,” he said.
One of the speakers, UnLocke the Light Foundation executive director Zach Ryan, spent 12 years at Salesianum as a teacher. As a member of the campus ministry team while he was at the school, he organized retreats, Masses and other events where the students could let their guard down.
“We allowed guys to take off that mask that they wear, in the spirit of St. Francis de Sales, and a lot of times that would reveal a mental illness or a mental health challenge. So to see this come to fruition where we really are educating the whole person, giving them tools to help each other, help themselves, it’s a vision and a dream that’s come true,” he said in an interview.
Chris Locke, the father of Sean Locke, noted that Salesianum has been very generous to UnLocke the Light. A few years ago, the foundation was the beneficiary of the annual SALSThon dance marathon, and the donation made the opening of Sean’s House in Newark possible. He thanked a group of people who were helpful in making the wellness center at Salesianum a reality, including the students who committed to eight weeks of training to become peer counselors.
The Hynansky Wellness Center “really has transformed how Salesianum deals with mental health,” Locke said, adding that the school is one of the leaders among area high schools in addressing the issue.
Locke mentioned that 40 years ago, a one-hit wonder band named ’Til Tuesday had a hit with the song “Voices Carry.” That song, he said, includes an important message.
“Never hush, never be quiet, because voices do carry,” he said.
link