UK student combines passion for mental health advocacy, childhood rare disease patient care
Video produced by DanceBlue and BH WELL. To view captions for this video, push play and click on the CC icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. If using a mobile device, click on the gear icon in the same area.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 6, 2025) – University of Kentucky senior Meaghan Haddix enjoys being part of Behavioral Health Wellness Environments for Living and Learning (BH WELL), a mental and behavioral health research team housed within the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. She also has a passion for DanceBlue, a student-run organization that fundraises year-round for the DanceBlue Hematology/Oncology Clinic and culminates in a 24-hour no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon.
Together, BH WELL and DanceBlue teamed up to give Haddix the platform to share why she is passionate about mental health and the DanceBlue clinic.
Haddix, UK College of Nursing major, Lewis Honors College student and BH WELL undergraduate research intern, shares her full-circle journey with DanceBlue. As a child, Haddix received treatment at Kentucky Children’s Hospital DanceBlue Hematology/Oncology Clinic for a rare genetic blood disease.
She has been highly involved in DanceBlue all four years of her college experience. Haddix has been a member of the Morale Committee leading other dancers on marathon day, and a Mini Marathons Coordinator working with Kentucky high schools to host mini DanceBlue marathons.
After gradutation, Haddix plans to be a pediatric nurse because she remembers nurses who made life easier for her while she was a patient at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. While in nursing school, Haddix also prioritized learning more about mental health during her BH WELL undergraduate research internship. Haddix plans to complete her senior project on the mental health of child hematology/oncology patients.
Housed within the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, BH WELL exists to promote behavioral health and wellness among individuals facing behavioral health challenges. The BH WELL research team members are experts in behavioral health integration and change. They provide the essentials of mental and behavioral health support: practice, research, education, scholarship and service. For more information about the behavioral health tobacco treatment awards or BH WELL, visit our website at bhwell.uky.edu.
DanceBlue is a University of Kentucky student-run organization that fundraises year-round and culminates in a 24-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon. Since 2006, DanceBlue has raised more than $23 million, making DanceBlue one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the Southeastern Conference. For more information about DanceBlue, registration information or to support its efforts, visit www.danceblue.org and connect with DanceBlue on Instagram and Facebook.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.