Last Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Division of Student Affairs had multiple offices across the University of New Haven participate in the Health and Wellness Fair. This fair had different tables with different resources and activities for students to do.
One table was set up by the Center for Student Engagement, Leadership and Orientation (CSELO), and sitting at it was Anais Gardere, a member of CSELO and graduate student studying cellular and molecular biology. Gardere said that the table’s activity was set up for students to either write a positive message on a piece of paper and leave it in a bowl or take a positive message.
Another table set up at the fair was hosted by the Counseling and Psychological Services, which had Community Wellness Advocates (CWA’s) there. CWA Alexis Robert, a senior forensic science major, said CAPS’ table had an activity called “Trash the Stress.” The activity allowed students to take a construction paper leaf, write on it what was stressing them out and crumble it then throw it into a bowl.
Robert said that the activity was centered around wellness during midterms, which took place the week of Monday, Oct. 9. “I feel like being a student is very hard, so it’s really good to promote mental health and [to promote] wellness so that you can put your best foot forward in your academics because you need to make sure that you’re okay first before you can do your best in all your classes,” said Robert.
Another campus office with a fun activity was the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC), who had a wish tree at the table, and students could write down a wish they have and put it onto the tree.
There were Defeating Roadblocks in Education through Awareness and Mentoring (DREAM) Ambassadors at the ARC table, one of them being Erica Golia, a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling.
Golia is also the campus life and social coach for the More than Access program, an ARC program that takes in about five students per semester who have autism spectrum disorder. Golia said that this is an opportunity for those students “who are really looking to enhance their social skills on campus and get involved.” The program also helps students navigate any conflicts they might encounter, such as roommate problems or trouble navigating social situations.
Another important topic discussed at the ARC table was mental health, which was touched upon by Noah Maayani, another DREAM Ambassador and a junior forensic psychology major.
“Health and Wellness [are] definitely important topics because mental health, specifically, is a very new and very not talked about subject,” said Maayani. “So, bringing awareness of that definitely helps show that we are all human and that together we can just help each other and all be ourselves.”
There were other tables that were set up that had been centered around physical health and wellness as well. For instance, Health Services had a table and was held by Alicia Dias, an advanced practice registered nurse at the campus’ Health Services.
Dias said that the tabling was meant to “encourage [students] to learn how to navigate the healthcare system” and that it is a lot of what Health Services does.
“That’s why it’s important for us to feel like we need to encourage them and provide a welcoming space for people to feel comfortable with that, because a lot of times, all it takes is one bad experience in healthcare for people to not really be interested in engaging moving forward,” said Dias.
Dias said that the office wants to give students a safe space to talk, not just for Health Services to be a place to go to when you are sick. “Also, if they’re concerned with mental health, if they’re concerned with their relationships – be it abuse or safety – we encourage [them to] come in and talk to us,” said Dias.
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