Riverdale, N.Y. — On Thursday, Aug. 8, Manhattan College's chapter of Morgan's Message headed to Yankee Stadium to celebrate mental health in a major league way. The Jaspers' women's soccer team took full advantage of a fun night out to the ballpark for an inspiring cause.
Morgan's Message is a nonprofit organization focused on destigmatizing the issue of mental health for student athletes. The organization was founded by the loved ones of Morgan Rodgers, a former women's lacrosse player at Duke University. After suffering a major injury her sophomore season, Morgan struggled with feelings of isolation, anxiety and the perceived failure to live up to the expectations set for her. Morgan died by suicide in 2019, at the age of 22.
Morgan's family has since set out to ensure that other student athletes know that they shouldn't have to suffer in silence. With a focus on eliminating stigma, and equalizing the treatment of mental and physical health for student athletes, the organization has become a major resource across high school and college campuses, with over 1800 chapters — some as far away as Germany.
Nicolette Caneda '25 is a senior on the Manhattan women's soccer team and serves as one of Morgan's Message's campus ambassadors for Manhattan. She is also the President of Manhattan's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Chapter, which functions to give student-athletes from around the MAAC a voice on NCAA legislation, and to discuss issues related to student-athlete welfare. Caneda first got involved with Morgan's Message her freshman year, and was one of the founding members of the college's chapter. She has since written for the organization's blog and appeared on their podcast, The Mental Matchup.
Caneda spoke to the importance of having a chapter of Morgan's Message for herself and fellow Jaspers. Thanks to the momentum of her Morgan's Message advocacy, Caneda has also started a mental health club on campus called Mental Health at MC.
"A lot of people felt like having more conversations that stemmed from Morgan's Message," Caneda said. "Just seeing that everyone struggles with certain things to some degree, and in that open conversation, just bringing more visibility to those things makes it a lot less uncomfortable to talk about."
Caneda was one of the chapter's members who attended the Morgan's Message dedication game at Yankee Stadium. She had also attended last season's game, where she met Morgan's mom for the first time.
"I didn't expect her to know me personally, but as soon as I went over to talk to her and introduce myself, she knew exactly who I was," Caneda said. "She kind of got choked up. I was basically sobbing. It was just an awesome moment to have her recognize the things I've been doing on campus…and me getting the chance to really tell her how much of a difference Morgan's Message has made for me personally."
That sense of community continued into this season's game, which featured a match-up between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels. While less-than-ideal weather meant a smaller crowd, Caneda was happy to report that most of this year's attendees were freshman student-athletes who also fully recognize the mission of Morgan's Message..
Lily Bandel '28 and Faith Zollo '28 are both members of the women's soccer team set to start classes at Manhattan this fall. While the semester has yet to kick into gear, both reported a strong sense of community thanks to their involvement with Morgan's Message.
"Having Morgan's Message on campus is a feeling of relief knowing that I have access to the support and resources I need to be the best version of myself everyday," Bandel said. "My experience at the game showed me the support that people spread through the platform of Morgan's Message, and hearing the other family's stories opened up my eyes to that loving community."
"Getting the opportunity to go to the game gave me a sense of community and support from people all over," Zollo said.
While the game was an opportunity for team bonding, Caneda also stressed the impact the dedication game and the conversations surrounding it can have — particularly with such an influential partner such as the Yankees.
"It's just really awesome to see pros talking about mental health and what it means to them, and playing for a cause bigger than them," she said. "You don't think that there's many things bigger than pro athletics until they're actually standing for something bigger than them, which is awesome to see."
Editor's note: You can learn more about Morgan's Message at https://www.morgansmessage.org/ and can follow them on social media on X at @MorgansMessage and on Instagram at @MorgansMessage.
