The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING ROBERT STENSRUD AS IOWAN OF THE WEEK
______
HON. CYNTHIA AXNE
of iowa
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Mrs. AXNE. Madam Speaker, as Mental Health Month begins, I rise to ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Drake University Graduate Professor of the School of Education's Department of Leadership, Counseling and Adult Development, Robert Stensrud.
Professor Stensrud has been serving Iowa and its residents since he moved from Minnesota in 1970. He has dedicated his career to serving those with mental health needs and disabilities. He began his post-
college career working with the Iowa Department of Education's Rehabilitation Education and Services Branch. It was here where he provided vocational rehabilitation at the State Mental Health Institute serving inpatients experiencing acute psychosis, substance abuse, and related disorders. In this position, he began to understand the importance of having a solid, dependable, and loving community. Most people who were released from his care did not have a community to return to, so they often struggled to survive in society.
Professor Stensrud has since dedicated his career to ensuring that all people feel important and seen. Some of his recent research highlights the childhood to prison pipeline and school to prison pipeline, where without a sense of community and belonging, many individuals find themselves in less than ideal circumstances to combat their feeling of being an outcast. Professor Stensrud understood that in order to make a difference, it is essential to work with students from a young age to help combat these issues. Professor Stensrud has done research through a LAUNCH Grant funded by Drake Head Start and the Iowa Department of Public Health on how mental health consultation can help improve coordination services for kids and their families, as well as how to train teachers and first responders to identify signs of trauma in children and act accordingly.
Professor Stensruds next project will center around documenting the history and current operations of legacy farms in Iowa. Maintaining long-standing legacy farms is no easy task, and the pressures often become too much for farmers. These stressors have been a large contributing factor to the increasing rate of suicide among farmers. Professor Stensrud wants to ensure that farmers in Iowa feel seen and appreciated while honoring their family's legacy and incredible accomplishments.
If Professor Stensrud's had one message to leave people with, it would be to show kindness and compassion to others. It is essential that we take care of those around us who struggle with their mental health or who are in a tough situation. His greatest joy and the motivation he has for being a professor is watching his graduates go on to positively impact others and make the world a better place. As Professor Stensrud would say, you may not be able to change the world, but you can change a life that goes on to save another life, and another after that. Making people feel loved and wanted is the first step, and one I believe we should all strive to achieve. We should not allow people to suffer in silence, rather be an ear for them. It is my honor to recognize Professor Robert Stensrud as our Iowan of the Week.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 86
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