T

he state of Michigan enacted a law requiring public 
high schools to give students CPR and automated 
external defibrillator, or A.E.D. training before 

they graduate, starting with the 2017-2018 school year. But 
LSA junior Tariq Mekkaoui is going one step further.

Mekkaoui views the state’s actions as a step in 

the right direction but knows they are missing an 
essential component: Mental health. He integrates this 
critical ingredient into Heal-Move-Shift, a nonprofit 
he co-founded in December 2017 that strives to teach 
students the three tenets of health: cardiovascular, 
mental and nutritional.

As an English and biomolecular science double major 

and an aspiring physician, Mekkaoui already had roots 
in the health science field. But a poorly-handled mental 
health incident involving a student in his hometown of 
Dearborn Heights is what actually sparked him to create 
Heal-Move-Shift.

“I was so upset, because I looked back at my own couple 

years in that community, and I was like, ‘No one spoke to 
me about mental health,’” Mekkaoui said. “No one spoke 
to me about how nutritional health can build on my mental 
health, or even cardiovascular health.”

Because of the incident, Mekkaoui realized it was time 

for change. With Heal-Move-Shift, he started working 
at Central Academy, a local Ann Arbor high school 
with a student body largely from immigrant countries. 
Mekkaoui, who is part Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian, 
and his co-founder Ahmad Hider, a University of 
Michigan alum, wanted to focus particularly on this 
demographic group.

“We’re both from immigrant … populations,” Mekkaoui 

said. “So, we wanted to heal that community. We really 
wanted to shift the stigma away from mental health and 
these other health aspects and then move the conversation 
the correct way.”

Every Friday afternoon, when most students check out 

and prepare for the weekend, Mekkaoui heads to Central 
Academy to lead Heal-Move-Shift seminars for students. 
The programs range from CPR training to yoga lessons 
and meditation to discussions related to mental health. 
Students attend voluntarily, and Mekkaoui is pleased with 
the turnout.

“They’re all high-achieving students,” Mekkaoui said. 

“They’re phenomenal, and I love working with them. I 
honestly feel better when I go and teach these seminars, 
and I go ahead and relate to these students.”

With the guidance of the University’s Barger 

Leadership Institute, which Mekkaoui managed to get 
useful contacts and resources to help grow the nonprofit. 
Heal-Move-Shift earned a $10,000 grant from the 
institute, which will help it potentially expand into four 
high schools next year.

“We’ve moved fast, and we’re very proud of what we’ve 

done,” Mekkaoui said. “But also, it’s so important to pause 
and reflect and make sure that we’re doing this effectively 
and intentionally.”

Mekkaoui has big plans for the future. He hopes 

that one day, all high schools will offer mental health 
seminars for students since he feels it’s imperative for 
them to learn about mental health before graduating and 
being independent.

He also has goals for himself. Mekkaoui dreams of going 

to medical school, but he’s fine putting this off until later 
to focus on the organization. In fact, he plans to take a 
gap year after graduating to focus all his energy on Heal-
Move-Shift.

“I feel like I’m making a difference, and they’re 

understanding these high-level concepts without being 
forced to learn it,” Mekkaoui said. “It’s an easy introduction 
and they can carry this on with the rest of their lives. So, 
this is the work I want to do and I feel good doing it.”

2B

Managing Statement Editor:

Brian Kuang

Deputy Editors:

Colin Beresford

Jennifer Meer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Photo Editor:

Amelia Cacchione

Editor in Chief:

Alexa St. John

Managing Editor:

Dayton Hare

Copy Editors:

Elise Laarman

Finntan Storer

Wednesday, April 11, 2018// The Statement 

STUDENTS 

of the 

YEAR

statement

THE MICHIGAN DAILY | APRIL 11, 2018

Activists. Innovators. Leaders. Community builders.

These three words can describe the seven students 

nominated by you — the University community — to 
be the Michigan Daily’s Student of the Year. But these 
words can hardly account for the countless hours of 
thought, the months of toil, the endless amount of 
passion each of these students have dedicated toward 
their work.

These are just a few of the students that push 

conversation and change within our university 
community and beyond. While their stories differ, 
each is driven by their own experiences to leave a 
positive mark on those around them. And for many of 
them, their work is just getting started.

These are your 2018 Students of the Year. Here are 

their stories.

Sincerely,
The Statement Magazine

 Tariq 
 Mekkaoui

BY ROHAN KUMAR, 

DAILY SPORTS WRITER

Ahad Bootwala/Daily

