Ciccarello Sisters: Why We Became Campus Captains

Mental health advocacy runs in the family for the Ciccarello sisters, as EmmaLia and Maia Feely are making a difference as Campus Captains (CC) for The Hidden Opponent (THO). Through their dedication, they’ve become leaders for mental health awareness on their college campuses.

As The Hidden Opponent (THO) kicks off the July 2026 Campus Captains application cycle, our current and former Campus Captains (CC) are sharing their experience in the program!

EmmaLia and Maia Ciccarello

Tell us a bit about yourselves!

EmmaLia: I run track and cross country (distance and steeplechase) at Susquehanna University. I’m majoring in Earth and Environmental Science and Spanish. Outside of THO, I’m president of ASL Club and president of Sigma Gamma Epsilon- the national honor society for environmental science students. Maia and I grew up moving around a lot because our dad was in the Army. Sports were often the only constant we found as we moved from place to place. We shared the same activities, including swimming, taekwondo, and soccer, which really grew our connection to competition and eventually led us to compete at the collegiate level. 

Maia: I swim at California Lutheran University. My major is Sport Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. I served as one of the captains of my swim team this past year as a sophomore. Outside of swim and THO, I coach a local club team with swimmers ages 7-18, and it’s my favorite job ever. To add to EmmaLia’s section, we both became very independent and outgoing because we had to move so often, and sports were the outlet for most of our energy. We loved competing together, and now, at our respective colleges, we don’t compete against each other or even play the same sport, but we feed off each other’s competitive fire.

Why is mental health advocacy in athletics important to you personally?

EmmaLia: Back in high school, I dealt with shin splints on and off for four years. I had a coach who really destroyed my confidence in myself and my trust in my sport. It took time to rebuild that confidence, but a healed broken bone heals stronger than it was before! Mental health advocacy is important because it affects everyone, no matter your level in athletics or how involved you are in a sport. 

Maia: In a sport where my body is often completely on display, I’ve experienced, along with so many teammates and friends, mental struggles surrounding body image and eating. Swimming, much like running, is a sport that requires so much from you while rewarding you with very little. It can be frustrating and confusing to push yourself so hard every day and not see much improvement. Mental health advocacy is so important not just for athletes but for every young person from elementary through college. So many struggles can go unnoticed by others, and giving reminders/access to help is a way to bring those struggles to light.

What inspired you both to become Campus Captains for The Hidden Opponent?

EmmaLia Ciccarello

EmmaLia: I wanted to give people a chance to speak up about mental health and create a safe space within athletics. Sometimes, “the grind” mindset isn’t what an athlete needs. The Hidden Opponent is such a supportive place for an athlete to go, and there needs to be more places like it out there! Being involved with THO makes me feel like I can lend a hand to people who have struggled with similar things. 

Maia: I knew EmmaLia became a part of it and absolutely loved it. I was partially “inspired” by some of my coaches who did not take mental health into account and often dismissed it as an excuse. I want to be the type of person, teammate, or coach who will take the time to ensure the people around me feel safe and supported, no matter the environment.

Are you able to support each other's work as Campus Captains? If so, how? 

EmmaLia: Before Maia was a campus captain and occasionally went as a member, she put me in touch with her CC at the time, Mia. We were able to arrange a pen pal messaging system, but the semester ended before we put it into action. I’m looking forward to more cross-country collabs in the future! It was super cool to talk to a CC who’s had a much more established chapter on campus. 

Maia Ciccarello

What has been the most rewarding part of being campus captains for The Hidden Opponent? Are there any memorable moments or initiatives you’ve worked on that stand out?

EmmaLia: Last year, Susquehanna University won “Best New Program Initiative" for our Why Wall project. We cut out shapes that represented each sport (track was a shoe, for example) and handed them out to athletes across our varsity and club sports teams on campus. Our directions were to write your reason for playing your sport, and the responses were amazing! We hung them on the letters of an S and a U in our athletic building and received a ton of support from them. Winning the award felt like my “I made it” moment. After a lot of struggle with founding the chapter, it felt as though we had finally found our footing. 

Maia: This year, California Lutheran University was one of the schools selected for the Adidas Grant. We felt so honored. Our chapter is still quite small, and we were looking forward to using it to spread more awareness on campus. We hosted a joint event with the Elementary Education club on campus and had an amazing turnout! It was cool to see our chapter with 4 or 5 members have that much impact within our college community.

How has being sisters influenced your approach to tackling mental health stigma together? Do you have any shared practices that help you manage your mental health as student-athletes?

Maia: I don’t want to speak for EmmaLia, but I know we are both very dedicated to our respective sports and have a love and passion for what we get to do. For me, I know that I’m not alone in my struggles with mental health because of what I’ve talked to EmmaLia about. We share the same enthusiasm for being great teammates, but it doesn’t always seem to be appreciated or well-received by our respective teams, which can be frustrating. I found comfort in those moments when I talked to her, knowing that I wasn’t alone in my feelings or frustrations.

What advice would you give to future campus captains or those looking to get involved in mental health advocacy?

Maia: The best advice I have is to be a light for others. It might feel like you don’t know enough about mental health to do the “best thing”, but in my experience, what most people need to know is that they are not alone. Reaching out, following up, offering a listening ear, and making sure the people around you know that you love and appreciate them can go a very long way. It doesn’t take much to have empathy and be kind to strangers, and it takes even less to sacrifice your time and resources for the people you care about.