Created this year, Wellness Wednesday is a new recurring activity that happens once a month, established by head counselors and a student panel, where students can talk with friends and other students about what they are thinking

For the most recent Wellness Wednesday, the theme was about being connected to loved ones, networks, and life, naming it Cooking for Connectedness. Students made waffles and talked about who brings people close together and what makes someone feel safe with family and life in general.

The events, which are held in the counseling office at lunch on a Wednesday, are held so students can learn about what wellness means and the different types of wellness.

The next Wellness Wednesday will take place Jan. 6 with the theme “Changing the Brain’s Stressful Habits through Exercise!” Event coordinators will bring in a Yoga instructor to teach basic Yoga techniques that students can use to reduce stress in their lives. Students interested in attending can sign up in the counseling center with Emily Goodman and should plan to wear comfy clothing. Depending on interest, the location may shift from the counseling office to the gym to accommodate more students.

Students involved have a warm and comfortable time with friends, while the student panel and counselors run the activity for the event and try to make it fun while educational.

“We researched some of the information that they [University of California, Davis] had of wellness, and UC Davis identifies eight dimensions of wellness. Those include emotional, occupational, environmental, physical, intellectual, social, financial and spiritual wellness,” head counselor Elizabeth Taylor said.

“There are a lot of different things, and we’re trying to cover something different every month to take some of the stress off the students and give them something positive to look forward to. It’s a good way for the students to connect to as well,” wellness counselor Lauren Stallings said.

Wellness counselor is a new position on campus this year, according to Stallings.  

To break the ice and make the students feel comfortable, senior Diego Sanguinetti, a member of the student panel, asked students at a recent Wellness Wednesday what made them feel connected to family and networks in their lives and what kinds of traditions run in the families.

“Right now people in general aren’t very comfortable around mental illness. It’s not something well known…The biggest goal for me in this project is to just make people comfortable coming out about their mental illness and them not fearing some kind of rejection from their peers,” Sanguinetti said.

This program was made to help students feel that they have someone to talk to, either friends or adults on campus. The ones planning all the events and trying to make everything better are setting a goal to expand and have more students involved.