Balling for (CHADD)

Greetings,

My name is Kendall Munson, and I am going into my second year at Portland State University. Although it is only my second year here in Portland, it is my senior year of college and graduation is on the horizon. So many things go into making your senior year special, but one in particular for me is that I get another opportunity to hit the hardwood with my teammates as a Portland State Viking.

The reason I’ve sought you out today is that I wanted to do something special with my senior season and use my platform to bring light to a cause bigger than myself, so I decided that for the duration of the 2023-24 season I am going to do a pledge for Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).To tell you a bit about my personal experience, I have always found it hard to stay focused on one thing at a time or complete the task in front of me without being so easily distracted. I struggled a lot growing up in school with sitting still and constantly battled this uncomfortable amount of energy that felt almost involuntary. Whether it was in the classroom or managing a quick task one of my parents asked me to do, if it took any significant amount of time or I had to be idle for a while, rarely could I get it done without difficulty or at all. As time went on, it felt uncontrollable and trying to explain what was going on and why I was struggling became harder.

It wasn't until the end of my freshman year of college that I was officially diagnosed with ADHD and began to get some answers. All that time spent trying to manage something I didn’t even know I had, now finally made sense. Once I realized I wasn't alone, I began researching everything I could about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It was in that research that I came across (CHADD) a great nonprofit organization that was actively working to improve the lives of people affected by ADHD.

I decided I wanted to work with (CHADD) to help educate and spread awareness about ADHD. Not only that, but as a male athlete I think that the stigma around mental struggles, like ADHD, need to be included more in the conversations we have. ADHD is a very real, quite common struggle and I wanted to be involved in helping spread awareness so that kids don't have to grow up as confused as I was. On the following page I describe what the pledge entails and how you can get involved. Even if you aren’t able to join my pledge, I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out and wish you all the best.

Yours truly,

Kendall Munson #44