Sam Keller is "Raising Serotonin"

In 2019, Sam Keller earned an undergraduate bachelor's degree in marketing. “And I didn't really have an idea of what I even wanted to do,” she said. Going to work, 9 to 5, is what she thought life was. “You wake up, you go to work, you pay your bills, and that's about it.” 

Then, a few months after she started her marketing job, she went on a retreat. She was in awe of the other professionals she met there and felt inadequate—like she would never be able to achieve the kinds of things the others had. “And one lady I didn't really know pulled me aside later in the day and was like, ‘Hey, I feel like I need to say this to you,’” Keller said. “And I was like, okaaaay.” At the time, Keller had an extremely negative mindset and was wary of what the stranger might say next.

The stranger said, “I just feel like if you continue to live the life that you say you live and speak to yourself and others the way that you are, you are going to be miserable for the rest of your life.” Keller continued, “There was something about the way that she said it to me, the way she approached me, that changed something in me.”

The next morning Keller woke up thinking about the stranger’s advice. 

“I was already on an antidepressant,” she said. “I grew up with a very unstable household so I had a lot of mental health challenges prior to this.” The morning after her work retreat, Keller decided to make a change. She just wanted to be happy.

“I had just turned 21 and realized the stranger was right—I could not spend the rest of my life like this,” she said. “Through therapy, I realized I had the power to change.”

Keller had an idea. She asked her social media contacts, “If I started a podcast, would you be interested in listening?” With the support of her friends, Keller started her podcast, “Raising Serotonin.” Five years later, Keller has published 146 episodes, exploring wellness and self care from the perspective of someone working daily to improve their own mental health. 

“I knew that there weren’t enough resources, people, or stories in the world about mental health, and I knew that if I was going to try to make an impact somewhere, I wanted to do it in the mental health space.”

Social media provided further inspiration on Keller’s new, more positive, path. One day, she read a friend’s post about their unhappiness with their career choice. “And I realized people change careers after 6, 7 or more years and I could change my career, too.”

Keller knew she wanted a career related to mental health. “I knew that there weren’t enough resources, people, or stories in the world about mental health, and I knew that if I was going to try to make an impact somewhere, I wanted to do it in the mental health space.”

Because she works full time, online study was the only viable option for Keller. “I'm in the Philadelphia area, so Lehigh is only an hour and a half from me,” she said. “I wanted a program that was located in Pennsylvania, because I wanted to be able to visit the campus and hopefully connect with other students in my area.” The College of Education’s vision and values also resonated with Keller’s belief that everyone should have a voice. Keller also appreciated that the program can be completed in three years. 

“Lehigh is a great school and I like being able to connect with people, within an hour or two of home,” she said. In October the COE’s Counseling Psychology held an on-campus social and many of the students were also able to attend the Lehigh-Lafayette football game. Keller started a group chat to help her cohort stay in touch outside of class. “That’s something I really wanted,” she said. “I value other people's opinions, knowledge and just conversation!”

Keller sees pursuing a mental health degree as a way to expand the reach and impact of her “Raising Serotonin” podcast.

“If I can provide ethical and legal help on the internet for people who may not be able to afford or access therapy, I want to be that person,” she said. “But I can't provide that type of content until I'm licensed.” 

Right now, Raising Serotonin sticks to sharing personal experiences. “Now that I'm enrolled in the online master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling, I’d love to have Dr. Adams on my podcast to talk about therapy from a licensed therapist standpoint.”

Keller is excited about the career and the future she has chosen. “If you choose Lehigh, I think you choose greatness—you're choosing to be better,” she said. “You're choosing to grow.”

You can find “Raising Serotonin” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To learn more about the COE’s online master's degree in Mental Health Counseling, please visit https://bit.ly/3ZYRe9l.