Wellness Wednesdays Make Mental Health a Priority
Emily Cowell, Associate Director of Student Life & Activities was a teacher for over 20 years before coming to Kettering College. She understands the importance of students being engaged in their work to be successful.
Aside from taking their studies seriously and working hard, self-care is a vital part of success. Taking time to decompress, relax, and rejuvenate are things Cowell knows students don’t always carve out time for while being laser-focused on the next test or clinical. She created Wellness Wednesdays to help facilitate an environment where students can step away from their studies, breathe, and have fun to better care for their mental health and well-being.
When Cowell created the idea of Wellness Wednesdays, she knew she wanted it to be simple—create a space where students can drop by and do something physical with no expectations or grade attached to it to enjoy themselves. In her previous career as a teacher, she found when students did physical activities such as art, it gave them moments to decompress and release stress by doing something easy and fun.
For this reason, she has incorporated arts and crafts in her event offerings. Students recently made cards for World Mental Health Day. She says, “I heard so many students telling each other how they had forgotten how much they enjoy doing crafts and how good it felt to do it again.” As students created cards and chatted with friends, it was exactly what Cowell was hoping it to be—a time to relax and enjoy some downtime.
Wellness Wednesdays are every first and third Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Students come for a short time or stay the entire two hours, and Cowell emphasizes it’s all about whatever works with a student’s schedule and interest level.
Pet therapy will be an ongoing part of the programming. A therapy dog that came the first day already has students asking for more, so Cowell is in communication with the Humane Society about a box of kittens coming to visit as well as a giant rabbit, and a therapy pony. She says, “There’s nothing like getting love from an animal and just taking time to pet them and relax for a moment.” Chair massages were also offered the first session.
The most recent Wellness Wednesday’s events included gratitude pumpkins, aromatherapy sachets, and enjoying hot apple cider and cookies. Cowell says, “It was a big hit! Our office was packed once the good smells started wafting down the hall!”
Future sessions will continue to incorporate arts and crafts and elements of self-care, such as yoga and meditation to give students a refuge from the stress of focusing so intensely on their studies. The next session will be Wednesday, November 2. We hope to see as many students as possible there to devote time to self-care and mental health to refill their tanks as they continue to work hard and give so much of themselves to their calling.
If you have any Wellness Wednesday questions or suggestions, please email Emily Cowell.
(Photos Courtesy of Ben Hotelling and Emily Cowell)
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