Carrying the flag for mental health awareness

Canyon Schneider ’26 never gave much thought to the importance of mental health as a high school athlete.

Armored in a helmet and pads, the all-state football player was focused on hardening his outer shell. Toughness and perseverance were valued, and as an offensive lineman, Schneider was supposed to be as impenetrable as a brick wall.

Education and personal experience have taught him otherwise.

“We’re expected to be these gritty, blue-collar guys,” he said. “Maybe it’s my chemistry and physics background, but brick walls have breaking points, too.”

Schneider has spent much of his four years at Denison trying to ensure fellow students never reach that point. His dedication to mental health awareness as president of Denison’s Mission 34 chapter earned Schneider and the athletic program national recognition.

In September, the Big Red co-captain was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team that spotlights extraordinary commitment to community causes and service. Schneider was one of just 22 college football players, across all divisions, to receive the honor from a record pool of 195 nominees. He becomes Denison’s second recipient of the award after Luke Romick ’16 in 2015.

Schneider will be recognized at halftime of the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans, where he’ll be on the field in his No. 56 Denison jersey.

“To be honored for this is amazing, not only for myself and not only for the Denison football team, but I think Denison University as a whole,” said Schneider, a chemistry major who plans to attend medical school and become a family physician. “I hope it acts as a spark for not only football players, but other teams around campus to get involved in the community because we have such an amazing platform as athletes.”

Schneider was recognized for his contributions in two facets of community service. He’s a volunteer coach for his brother’s youth baseball team in West Jefferson, Ohio, and he’s an advocate for mental health awareness.

Denison is committed to the all-around well-being of its students. The Ann & Thomas Hoaglin Wellness Center, opened in 2022, has a team of mental health clinicians in its counseling services and promotes mindfulness and stress management programs and classes.

Big Red football coach Jack Hatem is proud of the work being done by Schneider and the campus. He’s been coaching for 34 years and has witnessed a sea change in the willingness of students to discuss their problems.

Hatem now talks individually with his first-year players to make sure they are handling the transition to college life. The Big Red annually dedicate one of their home games to highlighting Mission 34 — an organization founded to end the silence and save lives in honor of former Denison baseball player Sean Bonner, who died by suicide in 2018.

“My awareness of mental health issues has gone through the roof,” Hatem said. “I think it’s more socially acceptable to admit that you have an issue in this day and age. Thankfully, it’s more common for somebody to walk in my office, quite frankly, like Canyon did, and say, ‘Hey, coach, can we shut the door? I need to talk.’”

Schneider recalls August 2022 as being “a perfect storm of bad.” A series of events that occurred in the week prior to moving to Denison created “emotional baggage” that he had never experienced before.

His high school years were idyllic. Three-sport athlete. Valedictorian. Class president and member of the National Honor Society.

But by the time Schneider started training camp at Denison, he was spiraling. Not that his new teammates noticed. Schneider was having a great camp, winning a starting position that he’s maintained throughout his Big Red career.

“I was shocked to find out what Canyon had been going through,” said former teammate and good friend Brian Stone ’23. “He seemed so happy, always asking how you were doing. One of the big differences between high school and college is you rarely know anybody when you get to college. If you grow up in a community, you’ve known most of your teammates, even the older players, since almost kindergarten. It’s an adjustment.”

Schneider said Denison’s football culture of inclusion helped him through troubled times. Upperclassmen like Brian and Kevin Stone ’23 invited him to their residence hall to play video games and took him out to eat wings.

However, Schneider missed home and felt the need to confide in someone, so he asked to meet with Hatem. The coach says he’s not a counselor but considers himself a good listener.

“I sat in this exact same chair for what felt like hours,” Schneider said of Hatem’s office. “I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I didn’t know how to navigate my new environment. It was a very emotional conversation, but when I walked out of Coach Hatem’s office, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.”

As his mood brightened, Schneider began to share his story with teammates. They not only understood but wished he had spoken to them sooner.

During his sophomore year, as the team went through an adverse stretch, Brian Stone recalled Schneider standing up in a team meeting and speaking of the anxieties he encountered when arriving at Denison.

“The message was we all face challenges and we can get through them together,” Brian Stone said. “He’s always been a selfless person, someone willing to put his team and community first. His speech brought us together.”

Schneider learned about Mission 34 midway through his first year at Denison. It took only a few meetings for him to volunteer his time to the executive committee.

Founded in 2019, Mission 34 is a university-recognized organization dedicated to eliminating the stigma surrounding mental illness through awareness and education. There are bi-weekly meetings and special events throughout the academic year.

Schneider said the Denison chapter includes about 200 members and that meetings typically draw 50 to 60 students. While it started at Denison, Mission 34 has expanded to 16 college and city chapters, including on the campuses of Ohio University, Miami University, Davidson College, Elon University, University of Mississippi, Queens University, University of Delaware, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

“Mission 34 gives us more tools in the toolbox – not only for our own mental health, but for being there for other people,” Schneider said. “It circles back to my struggles freshman year when I was able to fall back on my teammates, my friends, my coaches. They were there for me, so being able to pay that forward for the campus is something I take a lot of pride in.”

Schneider has literally carried the flag for Mission 34 during the annual home game that raises awareness of the organization. He’s had numerous private conversations with students dealing with their own mental health challenges.

One of Schneider’s biggest role models is not a famous football player, but his family physician, David Dewalt.

“If I become half the doctor that he is, I think it would be an extremely successful career,” Schneider said. “It’s not only about being a doctor but being a teacher, a friend, and a mentor. That’s a burning passion of mine.”

Schneider is an all-NCAC lineman, who this season has helped Denison lead the conference in passing yards. He’s also a two-time Academic All-District selection, a Student-Athlete Advisory Council representative, and a broadcaster for the Denison Sports Network.

“Canyon has been great in every phase of his Denison career,” Hatem said. “He’s a phenomenal student. He’s involved in the university in many ways. He’s a four-year starter for us. His example of how to lead a life at a school like Denison — being a great student, citizen, and player — is almost indescribable.”