Recent Grad 101: Carolyn Skowron

In our Recent Grad 101 series, we catch up with recent Chatham graduates who are maximizing their post-graduate journey. In 2020, Carolyn Skowron experienced two major life changes: she graduated Chatham in the midst of a pandemic and she survived a car accident that changed her outlook on life. As she navigated the choppy waters of a pandemic job search, Carolyn decided to enroll in Georgetown’s Creator Institute, a program designed to coach students through writing their own book. By way of the Creator Institute and New Degree Press, Carolyn published her first book, Unbreakable, which “will take you on a journey of self-reflection, self-discovery, and what it takes to have hope after experiencing tragedy.” In the below interview, Carolyn takes us through her process of writing a book, her advice for incoming first-years, and her hopes for what comes next:

Tell us about your book Unbreakable and what inspired you to write it?

Carolyn Skowron: My book uses my own personal experience of how I've overcome mental health issues. [It also explores] overcoming the stigmas [associated] with mental health and early childhood bullying. [It's about] how one thing can affect the other. One of the biggest parts of Unbreakable is understanding your self worth and self confidence. I write a lot about how society has this portrayal of how it should be, but really, people should be allowed to be who they are and accepted.

After I was in a terrible car accident in March of 2020, I had a whole new perspective on life. I grabbed my seatbelt a few seconds before the accident. I was in the back middle and I could've gone flying through the windshield. I was very lucky to be alive. I got to a point where I was like, I think I need to use my voice; life is too short. I started writing and I found this program through Georgetown University that helps you write a book. You don't know if you're going to be published until you submit it, so you're doing all this work for six or seven months before finding out if you’ll be published. Luckily I was approved to be published.

Who could benefit from reading Unbreakable?

CS: It's definitely beneficial for anyone in Gen Z. However, I do think parents can benefit from it, too. It's more informational for parents, but for college and high schoolers it's meant to show that you're not alone and that telling your story can be such a healing process. We're all in this together and no one ever deserves to feel alone. Men are allowed to have emotions, too.

What was your process for writing the book?

CS: I always imagined writing a book as chapter one, chapter two, chapter three. That's nothing like what writing this book was like. I started by combining my stories and matching my stories with statistics. It started in one big blob, and from there, I formatted out chapters as I went. It was not the traditional writing process which I really appreciated. I think that it gave me a lot of leeway to get my stories together, get my thoughts together, and then put things into chapters.

How did your time as a marketing major at Chatham influence your writing?

CS: I have always enjoyed writing but I went to Chatham for marketing. I didn't realize how important writing was to my mental health. Writing this book was a healing process for me. I would spend hours a day writing this for a year. And it was really rewarding. I might have gone to school for marketing but I would love to continue being a writer. Plus, writing is only one step; marketing [the book] and getting it out there is another thing. In a way, they go hand in hand.

What are you looking forward to next in your post-grad journey?

CS: I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic. I didn't have a normal graduation. I was applying for jobs throughout the process of writing the book, and that's been really tough. My hope is that I can continue being a mental health advocate. I would love to do speaking engagements and talk to younger kids, the ones who are most vulnerable, so that they can avoid a lot of the situations I was in and make better choices from the start.

I'm a presenter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I talk to high schoolers and show what I’ve overcome and how my story impacted who I am today. It's a very fulfilling experience. I got a message from a girl I spoke to and she said, "Thank you so much for sharing, this has really helped me." That's exactly why I did it.

What tools do you use to bolster your mental health?

CS: One of the biggest things is mindfulness; I think everyone should be taught it in school. [Mindfulness is] practicing being able to take a step back, being able to take a deep breath. If I'm really stressed, I'll take three deep breaths and calm myself down. A lot of the coping mechanisms that I have learned have been through therapy. I did dialectical behavior therapy, where you learn a lot about mindfulness. They also teach you coping mechanisms so that you can handle these situations before they become a crisis.

I think that therapy is something everyone should buy into. If you're having mental health struggles, make sure that you're not just going to therapy and sitting there. That's what I was doing. I was going but not buying into it and I was not getting anything out of it. The second I shifted my mindset and tried it, my whole life changed completely. Do not be afraid if you need to be on medication. If you can find a medication and therapy that work for you, you’ll notice a complete difference in your life.

What advice do you have for incoming first-year students on supporting their mental health?

CS: I'm not a professional, I am only speaking from my own experiences, but I think that the biggest thing I would say is to not be afraid to get help. The more you push things off or compartmentalize, the more that you're going to jeopardize your own mental health and hurt yourself. College is tough to begin with—it's a huge change. Before I went to Chatham, I went to school in Ohio for a semester. Every week, [my mom and I] would put a plan in place because I started to feel very depressed. [This helped] me get through the semester. Sometimes you have to get through to become in sync with where you want your mental health to be. If you can do the first step, then you'll be able to change everything taking it step by step.

If you can find someone accountable to check in with you every single week, [it really helps.] People showing that they care is sometimes what you need to keep going. It's really important that we check in with our friends and family. If people start talking in open and vulnerable ways, [the world] could be a much more fulfilling, safe haven for everyone. The more that people can be open and not have to silently struggle, the better society will be in the long run. Your experiences, your troubles, and your triumphs all make you who you are. Those tough experiences have helped prepare me mentally for how to handle life.

Learn more about Carolyn’s book at uareunbreakable.com. Interested in Carolyn’s skillset? Explore what Chatham can offer marketing majors.