b'PROFILESA Passion for Helping OthersCourtney KelleighCONTRIBUTEDA s the reigning Miss Georgia United States, Courtney Kelleigh uses the pageants spotlight to bring awareness to the plights of mental illness and the rising number of suicides, primarily caused by isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.In a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, about 47% of adults nationwide have reported negative mental health impacts during the pandemica significant increase from pre-pandemic levels.During the pandemic, Kelleighs passion for helping people with mental illness became personal with the loss of a friend to suicide. A relatively newcomer to South Georgia, Kelleigh, who earned a bachelors and masters in public health from John Hopkins University, moved to Thomasville in 2020 to start an internship at Georgia Pines Behavioral Health Center. 40 SG MAGAZINE| WINTER 2022 BUSINESS + CULTURE41'