My depression and anxiety were so severe my senior year that I could not go into the Science Center. I needed two 300 level classes to cover the credits I needed to graduate after dropping my thesis. I took a class on criminal justice and another on the anthropology of law and justice. I decided to go to law school - where I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and committed to a psychiatric hospital my first year. I survived this episode, and many others, thanks to the support of my family and friends, including many from Wellesley. Fast forward 25 years. I'm the executive director of Connecticut Legal Rights Project, a nonprofit legal services organization that represents low income residents of Connecticut who live with mental health conditions to protect their access to the services and supports they need to succeed and their rights to housing, education, and employment.