Quest Founder Luke Shirley ’18 on Mental Fitness, Peer Support and Asking for Help

Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, U.S.). In South Carolina, you can also call the Mobile Crisis line at 833-364-2274. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. 

On this episode of Speaking of… College of Charleston, alumnus Luke Shirley ’18 shares how depression and isolation shaped his sophomore year and how that experience helped inspire Quest, a Charleston-based nonprofit focused on strengthening the mental fitness of students and young adults through community and peer support. 

Luke also explains what Quest means by “mental fitness” and why movement and the outdoors can help people get out of their heads and connect with peers. 

Featured event: Quest’s flagship fundraiser, Sound of Mind, is March 29 at The Refinery in Charleston with headliner River Whyless. 

Learn more:

• Quest (Quest in Recovery): questinrecovery.org 
• Quest on Campus (student-led program at the College of Charleston and The Citadel): questinrecovery.org 
• CofC Office of Student Wellness and Well-being: charleston.edu/wellness 

Transcript

Luke Shirley QUEST

Fri, Feb 27, 2026 2:55PM • 39:24

SPEAKERS

Luke Shirley, amy stockwell

amy stockwell  00:00

Welcome to Speaking of College of Charleston. I'm Amy Stockwell with University Communications, and today, joining us in the studio is Luke Shirley, a CFC grad, and we asked you to join us in the studio today, Luke to talk about founding a nonprofit, which I think is pretty amazing for somebody at such a young age to pull that off. So can you talk about your journey from the College of Charleston to to founding quest?

Luke Shirley  00:30

Yeah, when I grew up here, and I was lucky, I got to go to the college and got into the Honors Program and dropped out of the honors program, but stay with college, and for me, where this mental health nonprofit really originated, there's definitely a long story with my family history, but college, I just hit a very hard low and hit a sophomore year slump. But it wasn't a slump, it was really a lot of things that I hadn't dealt with and that I didn't know how to process and I didn't know how to talk about it was my first time experiencing depression, which for me, I was so ashamed to admit I was

Speaker 2  01:11

struggling. I know. Why is there so much shame? Yeah, I

Speaker 1  01:15

mean, it's complicated. It's different for everyone, right? But for me, I definitely coming from the family and the situation I was in. Thought, I could never be that person that was weak or strong, and I equated not being okay, mentally, emotionally, socially, all this stuff with weakness, right? So I kept pretty quiet and isolated myself.

amy stockwell  01:38

True for young men in general. I mean, I think we do young men. I have three sons. I think we do disservice to young men and don't give them the tools like we do with women. That's a broad generalization, but the tools to be able to talk about your emotions

Luke Shirley  01:55

so true. And I just saw was just, we were just tabling with our student group at the college campus today, and I just saw another organization. It's a nonprofit, and how it's a it's a political group, and I won't say who, but their, their their slogan to catch attention was restore masculinity. And it was just so interesting because I asked one of the people, I was like, What does masculinity do mean and I don't blame this person at all. I'm not trying to say that, but I think our culture, we're just not equipped with how to really cultivate, like a deeper emotional self awareness at a young age. Maybe this is just a US thing, but I think I was sent off. I can only speak from my experience, I was sent off, and I feel like I didn't have any tools. I didn't have the positive, you know, not always, but not the positive peers and mentors I could look to that modeled really like just powerful truth and vulnerability and honesty and humility, right? And as a guy, I think that is really hard. Yeah, we equate that, yeah, asking for help. Yeah, saying, you know, hey, I need help with that, with with weakness, right?

amy stockwell  03:10

And there's such a stigma around mental health in general, yeah, but I think it's even harder on males, unfortunately, but hopefully, programs like quest are chipping away at that stigma and that those expectations, or those presumptions about mental health so you you were going through a difficult time in college, which is shockingly not uncommon. It's I read a recent statistic that I think said seven out of 10 college students are struggling with anxiety and or depression for a variety of different reasons, but so you were struggling, dropped out of the college. And then what happened next?

Speaker 1  03:56

I didn't drop out. I dropped Yeah, so I dropped out of that program. I almost dropped out sophomore year because for the first time, I didn't want to go to class, didn't want to learn, didn't even want to hang out with friends and socialize. I isolated a lot. So for me, getting in that dark place with depression, not knowing what that feels like. And for me, it felt like I had this really heavy, like dark, just cloud and blanket on me, and I couldn't my motivation being such a self starter and a motivated person my whole life wasn't there, and I felt like I was a shell myself, and it was just really, it was really scary, to be honest, the first time going through it, and then the isolation just makes everything worse. So I got to a point where I was like, I don't think school was for me. And that was a thought I never thought I would have. And then I was really lucky. I had someone in my family just kind of know, and the way that moms know, that they just know before you know. And I got to sit down, and she just kind of talked to me, and it really to me, I'm so lucky. You, but it made me realize, and I still come back to this today, just like, we don't help people. It's a weird thing to say, but like, I don't help people for a living, like I just tried the best to help myself. I'm lucky. I get to be with people and just sit with people and learn from people. And when you're going through something, something dark mentally, that's inside the worst, sometimes, the worst thing we can do is try to help. Yeah, the best thing you can do is just be there and listen, yeah. And I'm really lucky I got

amy stockwell  05:36

that listen, free of judgment, free of like, advice. You know, there's so much bad advice out there. Well, if you just, you know, you just go for a walk on the beach and you're gonna feel fine. You know, I think there's so much bad advice when you do ask for help, yeah, yeah. And I think just by being there, like you say you're modeling, modeling, I think is really important too, yeah. So that, I would imagine groups that you're working with today can see, okay, he struggled, and he's in a great place now. So I think those role models are super important too.

Speaker 1  06:13

Yeah, one of my favorite writers, she's a great writer on a lot of this stuff. And Lamotte, I love her, yeah, she's so great. She's such a good writer, and

amy stockwell  06:22

she said, book by book, No Bird by Bird,

Speaker 1  06:25

yeah, great book. But she said, in a talk I heard her give, she said, Help, I think is just the sunny side of control. And I always come back to that, because for me, helping was always a people pleasing strategy, yeah, and always just something I think that was like, I don't have to turn attention towards me when I can, like, be a helper, you know, and do that. But actually, students really remind me that we get to work with like, man, the most radical thing you can do is, like, love yourself and be good to yourself, which is, like, always, my dad's advice is, be good to yourself. Yeah, it's not selfish. It's actually

amy stockwell  07:01

a really thing. Yes, yeah, it's powerful. And, I mean, the world is hard enough as it is. Like, yeah, we need to take care of ourselves, and you'll have plenty of people out in the real world who are gonna be hard on you.

Speaker 1  07:14

Yeah, it's so true. The world hardens you. And yeah, if you can remain soft and open hearted and just true to yourself. Like being good to yourself is such a beautiful place to start.

amy stockwell  07:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so you graduated, we jump ahead to that point or Yeah,

Speaker 1  07:35

I got through it. Yeah. I managed. Yeah. I feel like I owe such a big shout out there to two people at the college, yes, so, so first is Todd Levasseur, yeah, he's a professor here, and, yeah, he was my, I'd say, biggest mentor at the college. And I didn't realize it at the time, like you don't when you're in stuff, just how much I both learned from him and grew almost like angered by him, like frustrated by him, because of how much he pushed me and how much he pushed me to be a better person, but also just more conscientious. And honestly, it kind of led for it to like an existential crisis in college, but he really is such a kind person, I think, like, that's what I really love about people, is when they're just really kind and genuine. And he was that for me, and

amy stockwell  08:32

then, and he angered you because he wouldn't let you get away with something, like he held you accountable, or, I

Speaker 1  08:37

think he just held, he held such a high standard for his field and scholarship, and just like I was a religious studies major, because I love trying to understand why people do what they do right, and why I do what I do. But he just held such a great perspective and openness and ways in his class that really pushed you to think outside the box, but also to, like, a frustrating degree where it's just like, I can't I feel like I'm not doing enough. Like, how do I do more? Yeah, and it was just very motivating to me. And then Zeph Birkin, another great religious studies professor, I want to shout him out, yes. He took me to India and got me outside of my little bubble. Grew up in Charleston, and I was the first time I ever traveled anywhere on a plane.

amy stockwell  09:24

And, yeah, wow, I thought, I thought, you just like, 18 hour, 20 hour flight. That's crazy.

Speaker 1  09:30

I literally got on my flight in Charleston. Was like, So how long is this flight to India? And I literally thought it was just a direct flight to India, little I know it was like, four layers. Oh, god, that's terrible. They both really helped me get through college. Yeah, we're just huge mentors.

amy stockwell  09:46

So kudos to those two faculty. Kudos to study abroad, which is I too, did that way back when, and that was a transformational experience for me, as I think, where'd you go? I went to Italy, and. And this was back in the 90s, but I got to live with an Italian family, and I mean, learned, like, speed dialed learning Italian because they were speaking and having these amazing conversations at dinner every night. And I wanted to so badly to be a part of it, you know, I needed to understand what they were saying, amazing food. And yeah, I would love to go back, but, yeah, but it was such a great experience being in another culture for several months. So yeah, in India, I can't even imagine what that was like,

Speaker 1  10:30

maybe not all that different. Yeah, when you only know what you know, yeah, when you go outside, you're like, ah, yeah, I don't know anything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was really eye opening and mind opening and heart opening, I bet, yeah, yeah.

amy stockwell  10:43

So then you graduated, yep,

10:46

I went 18, Yep, yeah. And then I got to

amy stockwell  10:49

pre covid. Out of school before covid.

Speaker 1  10:52

I'm so blessed in so many ways. I went to teach English abroad in Barcelona on a whim, and I was, like, very underprepared. So if you're a student, don't go teach English anywhere without any kind of work. Student is a situation which I probably shouldn't say that on this, but I did and didn't know what I was doing, but I learned a lot through just like getting outside my comfort zone. Honestly, teaching English is a great way to kind of suspend yourself of your beliefs and where you come from, when you realize like language is just like such a thin veil between us and whatever consciousness is, and it's so arbitrary, like learning new languages kind of teaches you that. So I really learned a lot in that year, but I was really homesick and coming back in 2019, so lucky before covid. Yeah. That was transformational. And that year really led to this nonprofit in a lot of ways. Yeah.

amy stockwell  11:53

So, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, founding a nonprofit is really hard. I would imagine. I have not tried to do it, but it's 501, c3, that's a lot of paperwork. And so the initial, can you tell me about, like, where the initial kernel of an idea came, where you were, like, okay, now I know what I want to do.

Speaker 1  12:14

Such a good question. But, or maybe there were many of there were many, I can highlight three really important things, coming back from Spain, coming back to my home and place and people was so important to me, because it really realized that like that stuff nourishes me. Yeah, it's really like people place, things that are important to you. And when I came back, I was like, Whoa, yeah. And that year I also had someone close to my family go through a really transformational recovery from substances and just suffering mental mental disease. And that was beautiful to see that and to get to be with that. Yeah, and healing, I think one thing I've learned through this is it's not an isolated thing, and when one of us heals, we really all like the tide rises, and we're all a better a better people for it. And so that year was transformational. And then I started a business with a buddy over covid Right before survived over covid. And then we were hiring college students to do odd jobs for homeowners. So manual labor was great. We always had this really high ideal of, like, Okay, we're gonna build a community and get students and young people just working and learning from work. And sounds good. It was, sounded good then, like, I was like, Man, these young people are, like, struggling, and a lot of them would come to me, and I just recognized myself in them. It was, it was touching to talk to a lot of them and be there for a lot of them, but also, like, not be able to be there for a lot of them. So that business really made me recognize, wow, there's a lot going on in people's lives,

amy stockwell  13:51

and they were coming to with their personal struggles or stressors, or, yeah, a

Speaker 1  13:55

lot of a lot, and a lot of things I couldn't relate to, but I was just able to, like, listen and again, just try to be there.

amy stockwell  14:01

And I think people have such a false idea about having worked here for eight years, such a false idea about college students and like, oh, that time of your life. You know, it's such a fun time only you're free from responsibility, enjoy all that like, but I mean, I have seen and, like I said, I have kids, they it's a difficult time of life. There's lots of stressors and challenges. And I think people don't I mean, I think maybe they're starting to recognize it more. It's been in the media a lot more recently. But yeah, I think there's some false impressions about this time of life, how easy it supposedly is. Well, the

Speaker 1  14:44

beautiful thing about that job, too, meeting so many students and young people was like, I was learning so much from them, from them being advocates for themselves, which I think is beautiful. So like when we and when I say we like our culture, our community doesn't. Provide something for young people. The really cool thing is young people kind of fill up that void themselves, and they're and they're so I think there's a big mislabel students and young people being really lazy these days. Yeah. I think it's overwhelming, yeah. And it's really amazing though, when you get to know people and just how much they're capable of. So seeing that business grow with people just really struggling pushed me to think more deeply about this stuff and really feel for young people. And then the last thing that led to this nonprofit Quest was I met a nonprofit director in 2022 she we hosted a fundraiser, a tennis tournament for her nonprofit that helps people coming out of addiction recovery get into CrossFit. Yeah, amazing, amazing people. And iron wolf recovery is the name of that nonprofit. I loved her story. I asked her to come speak at our fitness group she did, and it was so powerful to see her do that. So we hosted a tennis tournament fundraiser just like that, where we played tennis, and halfway through people, yeah, halfway through people share their tennis or their recovery stories. And it was just that day was like, I can't really describe it with words, but it just felt like my mind and everything in my life was like a Rubik's Cube and everything just like, flipped and everything was just all of a sudden, like, there, yeah. It was like my family, all the stuff that happened, and everybody in my life that mattered was there, and we did it for such a beautiful cause, and it just felt so inspiring. I left that day feeling so inspired. And then a week later, I found out one of my friends I met in college lost her partner to an overdose, and timing was just crazy. He was the same age as my brother, and just like the same so many similarities, I just felt like it was the world, like just blowing a door open for me. I was like, I have to do something. Like, I'm I just witnessed that, and was so blessed to be able to do that, to be here, and to have my family here, like, I don't want that to happen to anybody else, right? And it just really pushed me. It was, like, the most motivating thing that's ever Yeah, struck me in my life.

amy stockwell  17:09

Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow. That's that's really, that's really heartbreaking. But it's also, like you said, it seemed like a lot of things were lining up at the right time and for your awareness to see, okay, like, here's a here's something that has touched me personally. Here's this experience I just had with this nonprofit fundraiser. Like, it seems like it really was kind of lining up perfectly to come together in that moment. You know, yeah,

Speaker 1  17:39

a great writer, Lisa Miller. We've actually had her host her virtually. She's amazing. She She is like a Oprah Winfrey book club reader, read or whatever, and consults for the Pentagon. Started a PhD program in Columbia. She's like next level. She wrote a book called The Awakened brain. And her worth. Her work is worth checking out. But um, she talks about synchronicities, and so do a lot of other researchers. And Carl Jung was big on this stuff in psychology. If you look at things in life with a presentness and an awareness of just being there, like being present, there's a lot of things that are happening that that seem synchronistic or like half like, that's, that's weird. That's weird. Coincidence, yeah. But I think what she talks about, that I love, and she highlights it so well, is, it's actually not out of the ordinary. It's, it's you just being

amy stockwell  18:31

paying attention to it, right? Yeah? And being aware stuff is probably happening all the time, all the time, but we only catch, you know, tune into it when we're when our eyes are open and we're ready to receive that, whatever. Yeah, yeah.

18:44

What helps you receive that? What helps you?

amy stockwell  18:47

Really, good question, yeah? Because sometimes I know you just said it, yeah, God, or from for me, for me, it's like, it is those moments when I'm walking on the beach. I live at the beach, so it's, it's being able to just be out there, free from distractions of the world and and being quiet and feeling the fresh air and listening to the waves and like that's when I feel most open to to seeing, hearing, feeling things. Yeah, yeah. So, so since I started talking about the ocean, tell us about just, I don't want to skip over the actual creation of quest, but you do a lot of stuff like paddle boarding and kayaking activities like that with your students in quest on campus. Is that right? Yeah, tell us about the connection between like, the exercise, the activity part, why that matters for mental health, or how? Yeah, that

Speaker 1  19:47

part, yeah. So we, well, it's a huge part of my life, like just being active, and it's like, I've been really blessed with that to fall in love with so many things, hobbies and outdoor stuff. And I. I just always noticed personally, when you did something with people that was hard or just like out of your comfort zone and out in the in the natural world, like it just opens you in a way that you can't get otherwise. And there's just such beautiful bonding that happens there. But for me, like for our nonprofit, I just really felt like our pillars for the work that we do, every activity has to have some educational element to it, or a recreational component to it, and all that builds community. So it's like education, recreation, community building. And I love the model of, like, a peer support program, because the students know better than anyone else what they're going through. Right They might not have like, the answers, but they can ask the right questions, and they can be there, and they can hold space for each other, because they can have someone be like, I've been there too. I get that. And I just noticed, like, when you talk about mental health, people like, we now use the term mental fitness, yeah, yeah. It's in our mission statement. A student came up with, it's brilliant, really. And it's, it's mental fitness, because that word in itself, just like, is leveling, and it's like, oh yeah, my mind and my body are actually, well, they're kind of one in the same, right? But why do I talk about my physical health and well being? If I broke my arm, it's not a shameful thing to say, right? You know, I'm hurt. I have this. But if I'm struggling with anxiety, or if I'm like feeling really low today, why do I hide that, right? Why would I be afraid? Why would I be any more ashamed or embarrassed to say that, yeah, than I would my physical body seems so logical, but yet, and it's not, yeah, we're not taught that, and we're not It's not modeled. And so mental fitness for us is so important that word is the ability to embrace the day with optimism, to have a build emotional resilience and seeing opportunities as challenges to better yourself. And I love that, because it's so empowering, and it's like leveling again, of like, wow, this isn't any different, and I shouldn't feel any lesser than that if I'm struggling with anything mentally and emotionally than I do physically. So and just sport, if you look at sport, like it's such a beautiful leveler and connector and bridge for people of all different backgrounds and experiences. And so when we can incorporate yoga, paddle boarding, surfing, and just get students out of this, like bubble, right? It's so it's

amy stockwell  22:34

out of the literal classroom. So it's not like you're sitting around in an actual in a classroom talking about your personal feelings, but I would you're out engaging in physical activity, where I think it would happen more naturally, that way

Speaker 1  22:49

it does. And it was a frustration I felt as a student. I fled to like the ocean and beach, I found surfing thanks to Kai dilling and Tom Carroll, two professors here in college, and I fell in love with that. And every time I was going through an episode or, like, really, when I was really in my worst depression in college, I spent so much time in the ocean. And I can, I can look at it now and be like, Oh, that makes sense. Like the ocean is very open, right? There's a solace there, and there's just no judgment. And it got me out of my head. Yeah, yes. Thing is the biggest thing. If we do one thing, it's like, we provide a community and space where people can talk to people and get out of their head, right? Which is, so it's so hard, right? Yeah, necessary.

amy stockwell  23:34

And the community part of of seeing somebody else who's you're not alone, I think that's so huge to learn. I'm not the only one struggling with this. That person is struggling and that person is struggling, and, yeah, I think that's huge. Yeah. So when you you know, for any audience who might be listening watching with ideas of their own, entrepreneur ideas, or, like, wanting to create a nonprofit. Like, did did you talk about that part of the journey? Were you what was most helpful? Like, were you reaching out to to mentors to ask advice? Did you take classes? Did you Was it hard to raise money and and then, yeah, so talk about that. And then I want to talk about your ongoing fundraising,

Speaker 1  24:22

yeah, efforts so hard to give specific advice to a broad audience. But I would say, if you're a young person looking at a nonprofit like really, just sit with yourself and ask yourself, what is a problem I have in my life, or I've had that I haven't been able to solve, that I know could be solved if I just if I just had help, I just had the help and resources to address this, and maybe not even solve it, but do something about it, and it almost has to be something i. Bigger than you that I think you don't know if you can do it alone. Yeah, I think there's a great quote. It might have been like Helen Keller quote I read. You never know where quotes are, but it was like something like, you know, spiritual strength, a sense of spirituality, cannot be cultivated alone. You have to take on something so big, so challenging, so daunting. You can't do it by yourself. Yeah? And I just love that. I think if you're going to do a nonprofit like you really have to have such a strong why? Yeah, and so much of your whole being into it, which is not just you, it's a community. It's, it's, it's bigger than you, yeah, so really sit with yourself, is what I would say. I don't, I don't even think, before you go to other people and start picking brains and getting opinions, just like, man, what do I wish I had? What do I wish I could do? What I wish was here to help, not just me, but like here to really create something good for others. Yeah, that's bigger than me. Yeah, that's what happened to me.

amy stockwell  26:07

Yeah, yeah. And I would imagine that you probably got turned down, like I would imagine being resilient and believing in your idea is is an important part of the process. I don't want to make assumptions, but I feel like you often have to to continue to believe in your idea matters. In the face of people saying, No, I can't help you, or No, I can't give you this money to get you going. Or, you know, to keep believing.

Speaker 1  26:35

Can I tell you something that happened this week? Yeah, because it's pretty top of mind on my mind, speaks to that. Like we basically got to we're hosting a big music event. It's like our flagship fundraiser, sound of sound of

amy stockwell  26:49

mind. Yeah, I keep wanting sound of music,

Speaker 1  26:52

sound of whatever, sound of whatever the sound of your mind is. But we're like, in a point where fundraising is so tight and hard right now, and like, it's not an easy thing ever, but timing just plays such a big deal with this stuff.

amy stockwell  27:05

So and I mean, create it like just organizing a music event is a lot of work. There's a lot of logistics.

Speaker 1  27:13

Yeah, it's not good for my mind. No, but we got to a point this, this last week, where we just had to really ask people for help. And, like, I just, we have a committee. I'm really lucky. But I was like, guys, I don't know if we can host

amy stockwell  27:25

this this year. Yeah. And this would be your third year hosting this right second,

Speaker 1  27:29

and we want to make it like a really beautiful, big thing that happens annually. And it just is challenging. But I basically just had to ask for help. And I just, and just got off a call. This is my point. I just got off the call, coming here with a guy who came to this an amazing guy. JT, white, thank you. I'm gonna send this dude. JT, white, he I barely know the guy, and he came to our committee meeting, and this means something to him. And he just told me. He said, If you don't get the money by the time you need it to host this event, let me know. Like, I will loan you, I will personally make sure this happens. Wow. And it just speaks to this. I don't know, like, it's not easy work, but I think when you kind of, like, learn to, like, just let go and trust people, yeah, and just the intention there is there, and the effort is there, things somehow just work out, yeah, like, makes sense. And that's just, I just think that's so special that people that go out of their way to to do stuff for others, yeah, it that to me, gives me so much belief, because it's just like, wow, it's actually not on me, it's actually not about me. It's actually so much, like, bigger, yeah, and just mysterious, like, I can't even make, I don't know how that guy, yeah, got introduced to me, and that's how this happened. But it's just like, that's remarkable, yeah, that is, he's such a I mean, people are so good, yeah, if we give them the opportunity, yeah, yeah.

amy stockwell  28:59

And so tell us about this event. This is in March, right?

Speaker 1  29:03

It's March 29 and it's called Sound of mind with and where will it be? It's at the refinery, okay, yeah, beautiful venue, and luckily, we're getting to host it there, yeah? And we got a great headliner, river wireless, yeah, yeah. They're fantastic, great people. Maybe we'll play some for this podcast. But it's, um, it's actually, we're not advertising as such. It's a suicide awareness event, okay? And it's become something way more common, and it's sad. It's like one of those things. I don't even understand it, and it's super close to my heart, because I've lost people to sue. People to suicide, and I've thought about suicide, and I was a sophomore, I thought about it for a night, and never thought I would think that, you know, and, yeah, it's one of those things that there's such a stigma around Yeah. And I don't, I don't pretend to have any answers or clarity. On it. I just know that there's so much struggle that is put on the individual, so much burden, so much weight, and that's that's not on them, and we shouldn't shame them too for their choice, right? My dad and I always talk about like, Man, I just feel like some some people here just have too big of hearts, and it's like they're not ready for the right of this world. You know, yeah, this world is not made for them, and we force a world on people that's just like, it's really not right, it's not fair, it's sad. But when we can hold space and we can have a music event that really lifts up voices that are inspiring, but also honors people that are no longer here and their families that have, you know, I mean, gone through tremendous pain. It's really beautiful, yeah. It's really, really Yeah, yeah.

amy stockwell  30:51

And so to to connect it back to the program on campus. Quest on campus is there are the students that you're working with at the college or the Citadel involved in these community events at all? Are those really like separate things?

Speaker 1  31:13

That's a good question. So we host sound of mind and two other campaigns annually that are just for the community. Big, big events, mental health campaign, recover awareness campaign, and this music event, it's a suicide awareness event. Those are open to anybody, but they're really driven by the students. And the mission that we get to inspire on campus to strengthen students. Mental fitness, it's really created by the students and for students. So like this music event that was a name thought of by a student, yeah, merch, posters, all that's created by students. Day of at the event, they get to speak on stage. So they have this amazing yeah? They get to get up and share an impact and testimony, a story, really, of you know what this means to them, yeah? And then they introduce the bands who play, and get to share. And it's like, it's just finding ways. I think this is so true with any struggle and any illness. It's like finding ways to just like, channel that energy into something bigger than yourself and something that's good, hopefully that impacts people beyond you. So it's just really beautiful to see students get creative, and then to also just see the kind of fruits of their labor, and then to come out and enjoy something that feels safe and celebrate yeah and uplifting, yeah? So yeah, but this is like an open to the public event, but it's a fundraiser. Yeah? Tickets are just 30 bucks, which is great. That's really three bands. Yeah, amazing spoken word artist, yeah. Beautiful, yeah.

amy stockwell  32:43

So for students who might be listening and want to find out more about quest on campus, like, how what you know, what does it look like like? Can they just drop in to an event? Or, how would they find we can put information in our show notes about how to connect with you. But is it? I mean, I would think some students might be a little, you know, awkward about showing up to an event if they haven't been there before. What do you recommend, or what's the best way for students to take that first step, to get involved?

Speaker 1  33:19

Such a hard thing, because it's like, you can't again. That's like advice that I can't speak to every student, but we have an Instagram, yeah, start there. Yeah. We have to necessary evil.

amy stockwell  33:32

You come on campus and do a max on campus, right?

Speaker 1  33:36

So the best way, I think, is always just in person stuff we do. We're very intentional about hosting in person events, almost predominantly the campus organization at CUC and the Citadel now, which we're just working with this year. So it's brand new. Not as active. They're learning the ropes. Yeah? Students table pretty much weekly at the college, and so if you see a quest tablecloth, stop by, talk to him. Yeah, get her ass. Maybe No. People are the students. They're always sharing kind of events that they're hosting on campus. But most students and people find us through at Quest on campus, okay, or main nonprofit at Quest and recovery on Instagram and events are always two students like those events on campus are always free and open. Yeah, anyone can come to those

amy stockwell  34:25

and don't you wish? I mean, I imagine you feel very proud if quest on campus had been around when you were a student, how different that might have been for you, you know? I mean, it's wonderful that these students today, who might be struggling like you were struggling. Have this resource on campus is really fantastic.

Speaker 1  34:46

Oh, thank you. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I get more inspired every day just by other people doing things I can't think of. And I'm like, How do you do this? You know,

amy stockwell  34:56

I know I look at you. I'm like, how do you juggling a lot? Also, like,

Speaker 1  35:00

I look at myself and I'm like, I don't know if I wish I would have had that actually, I think I had to go through what I had to go through. And I actually think, yeah. And it's also just like, you can't look back. And I think if you could have removed, someone told me this really recently, it's really wise if you can remove one word from your vocabulary, like, just take should out of your Yes. I hate stop saying should, should have, should have, I know, in any form, any tense, and it's just like, that's how it's horrible.

amy stockwell  35:27

I grew up with so many shoulds. I mean, I think so many of us grew up with so many shoulds. It's, I agree that's and regret that both of those words, sorry about that,

Speaker 1  35:37

not the word, word shame, but right, we don't. We don't.

amy stockwell  35:40

Those are words I feel shaming about.

35:43

Should not say should, right?

amy stockwell  35:46

So just, I know we need to wrap things up here. But what's like next for quest like, what's beyond the music festival that's coming up that we're going to encourage everybody to go to, what's like? Where would you like to see this in a year? In two years, three years? Do you want to have this go to other campuses? Or where do you see the future?

Speaker 1  36:09

That's such a tough question. I love the just like advice of just one day at a time, right? Yes, to me, I don't really know. I guess ideally, and this is just my head, but so many things I told myself that I would do or would never do, I end up it's not being the opposite, right? And it's just so paradoxical life. But I if I had a hope or a vision, I would hope that it just stays true to its core and its mission and like through the people that take it on and build something greater than I could have done and I can do and I hate. I don't, shouldn't say hate. I don't like selling it to people, yes, and I'm not. I've been told so much I should go into real estate. I'm like, it really would suck my soul. Yeah. And if this, if a student, like, we just had a Clemson student, start working for us as an intern, she's fantastic. Her sister goes here. If she was like, Hey, Luke, I think this, this, this should be at

amy stockwell  37:17

Clemson, right? Amazing, right? If it was organic, like that. Yeah. And if

Speaker 1  37:22

there's a need for it, because I just see so much of that, like, shove this down your throat. Honestly, I've done it at times when I had to start it, I had to be a little bit of a pest, a nuisance, to people, and be like, Hey, can you help me? We're doing this. And I've just gotten to the point I think it's just, like, personal, where I just know myself somewhat, and I, like, trust things more. I'm like, it's just not, it's not on me. It's not up to me right now. It's out of my control. And I love the idea of a student taking it over,

amy stockwell  37:55

yeah, right, being the director, me, just being able to take it further than, yeah,

Speaker 1  37:59

yeah, back here and just really learning still, like, I just hope I keep learning and that it keeps evolving, because everything has changed and always changing and crazy. Yeah, it's just beautiful that we get to, like, even be here and enjoy each other's presence. Yeah, that's that didn't answer anything.

amy stockwell  38:19

No, it's, it's it's it. I think staying true to your to the mission, and not turning it into something else just because you want to grow it. I think that's really insightful and smart. I think a lot of times people can get excited just about expansion and then, and then grow too fast, too soon, and then lose, you know, lose the true core of what it was. So I think that's really smart. And I love the idea of a student taking it over. And yeah, being able to pass on the reins would be really cool. Yeah.

Speaker 1  38:47

I hope serene does that. Yeah. Also shout out.

amy stockwell  38:50

Shout out, serene, step up, right? Thank you so much for coming. I know you're super busy. We really appreciate we have so many fantastic alumni at the college with such a wide range of skills and experiences, we love being able to talk to our alums. And so thank you for coming in, and I will fill up our show notes with all sorts of resources about how to connect with quest and how to get involved. And yeah, thanks, Luke,

39:21

oh, thank you guys both take appreciate you.