Manhattan College's graduate school counseling program is using hip-hop as way to connect with students.

On Thursday, students showcased their work, told their stories through music and spoken word.

The event was all part of Mental Health Awareness Month.

All the music was recorded virtually to celebrate in a virtual listening party.

"I got this comment from a person, and he said that it was one of the best things he heard so far, and it was like wow! This was my song, and it was so cool," said student Chelsea Mancilla.

"This works because hip-hop works. This works because hip-hop is this beautiful thing that's always existed and we’re being intentional about bringing hip-hop into school counseling to support young people expressing themselves, which would have happened outside of school anyway," said Assistant Professor of School Counseling at Manhattan College Dr. Ian Levy.

Levy, who also organized the event, also published a book on blending hip-hop and counseling called "Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Therapy in School Counseling, Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches," which can be found here.