Jade Mason: 'I want to be the type of person that can help people get better'

• Jade Mason, a senior at Newcomerstown High School, and her family were impacted by a relative's struggles with mental health.
• As a result, Mason plans on studying to become a psychiatrist to help others with their mental health issues.

NEWCOMERSTOWN ‒ A relative's struggle with mental health issues was the driving force behind the decision by Jade Mason, a senior at Newcomerstown High School, to want to become a psychiatrist.

After graduation, she plans on attending the Ohio State University campus in Newark to study psychology. After that, she wants to go to medical school, complete a four-year residency program and become a psychiatrist, working with children. She is also open to the idea of working with law enforcement.

Seeing how her relative's mental health affected Mason and her family, "I want to be the type of person that can help people like (my relative) get better," said Mason, the daughter of Danielle and Berton Quillen of Newcomerstown.

"The end of my junior year, it was really, really bad. I missed a good bit of school. I don't think I've ever missed as much school as I did last year. I still got my work done, but I was very behind in a lot of my classes. I procrastinated on a lot of my schoolwork at the time. I don't feel as motivated some days compared to others. It was definitely a struggle. Just coming to school sometimes was the hardest thing, just getting up in the morning and wanting to get ready to go. It was pretty tough."

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Internship at Coshocton hospital

To prepare for her chosen profession, Mason has taken classes on psychology and sociology, read a lot of books and did an internship at the Genesis Coshocton Medical Center. That gave her an insight into what medical professionals do there.

She said the thought of working at a hospital emergency department during her residency is a bit daunting. "It's a little scary, because you never know what's going to happen. I think I would enjoy it a lot. I think it would be interesting. You never know what's really going to come in. You're always going to deal with new stuff every day," she said.

She said she thought the qualifies that a psychiatrist should possess include being understanding, determined, compassionate, empathetic and kind.

"I would like to be the person that helps people get through that (mental health issues)," Mason said.

School activities

She has maintained a busy schedule during her time at Newcomerstown High School, being involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, serving on the student council, the yearbook committee and being a member of the National Honor Society. She has also participated in track and cross country.

One of her favorite hobbies is working puzzles. "It takes my mind off of stuff. Once I focus and I start on it, I just keep doing it until I'm done. It passes a lot of time for me," she said.

'Be social. Make friends.'

What advice does she have for future seniors?

"Participate, get involved in everything, even if that seems scary or uncomfortable at first," Mason said. "Be involved. Take school seriously. You don't have to get straight As to pass high school, but you can always be doing more.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help, but always try to do things on your own. Don't try to depend on everybody else for your work and for stuff you have to get done. You're going to have to do that stuff by yourself whenever you're out of high school. Be social, make friends. They help you get through high school."

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.