JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University department of athletics is proud to announce a newly established partnership with Laura Depko. The licensed clinical social worker is joining the Gothic Knight family as a mental health coach, and any and all NJCU student-athletes are welcome to seek out Laura for any and all needs, even if they are just looking to talk to someone.

"I am so thankful and blessed to be a part of the NJCU family," said Depko. "All of the staff and administration have welcomed me with open arms, and the student athletes I've had the honor of working with so far have been amazing humans. Looking forward to continuing this partnership for — hopefully — many years to come! "



For any members of the community looking to get in touch with Laura, please reach out to your program's head coach, a member of the Sports Medicine staff or Dr. Danielle Beam, associate director of athletics for student development/SWA and Director of the Rising Knight Institute (RKI).

"NJCU Athletics is very excited to welcome Laura [Depko] of Depko Cognitive Therapy LLC, as a key support service for student-athlete mind health," said Beam. "Our student population faces an immense amount of stress and expectations in daily life and adding the rigor and pressures of being a collegiate athlete can be a lot of weight to carry. Laura, having been a Division I collegiate athlete herself, understands the various facets of life a student-athlete may struggle with. The pandemic made it more evident than ever that students were looking to us for more support and an outlet to be heard. Feedback from our students regarding their experience with Laura has been stellar. We are looking forward to the future of this partnership knowing the voices of our students are being heard and appreciated by Laura."