College students can become so focused on their coursework — along with demands on the job and at home — self-care becomes a forsaken priority, put off for a more convenient time that never comes. Before long, a lopsided, sedentary lifestyle takes over. Stress builds, eating and sleeping disorders creep in, and chronic mental and physical health issues become the norm.
Thanks to a $1,000 Seeds of Wellness mini-grant awarded by Kent State University on October 14, students at Kent State University Geauga’s Twinsburg Academic Center will soon have a dedicated Wellness Corner to bring their imbalanced life in for a welcome adjustment.
“This Corner will offer a great place for students to see how learning about stress, mental health, and other healthy habits may result in building a healthy lifestyle,” says Sue Mark-Sracic, MEd, LPCC, LSW, counseling specialist at the Twinsburg Academic Center. “When we are busy, we may forget how to properly take care of ourselves. This corner will offer a visual and physical reminder to improve our self-care and care for others. We hope that students will take advantage of and connect with one another in a peaceful location.”
Mark-Sracic says the grant was pursued to better embody Kent State's health and wellness mission. The proposal involved a focus on mental health from among a range of wellness priority areas, including alcohol and other drugs, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, preventive care, safety, sexual health, and smoking and tobacco use. The grant award comes on the heels of another $1,000 Seeds of Wellness grant announced earlier this month for a Mental Health & Wellness Corner to be established at the Geauga Campus location in Burton.
The Twinsburg Academic Center’s grant-seeking process mirrored that of Burton’s, in that “the Wellness Club and the counseling program partnered in our request to create a Wellness Corner for students within our quiet study room,” Mark-Sracic explains.
Expected to open by late November, the Twinsburg Academic Center's Wellness Corner will be available most hours of the day. It will offer students informational pamphlets and relaxation-related tools, including stress balls, coloring pages, puzzles, visuals, and physical elements, to provide distraction or offer students opportunities to de-stress. The opening of the new Wellness Corner will be celebrated with a possible ribbon-cutting ceremony and promoted via internal screens.
“We hope that the establishment of a Wellness Corner will enhance education in the areas of stress management, mental health, healthy eating, physical activity, etc.,” Mark-Sracic says. “We also hope that students will engage in some of the physical activities so that wellness is promoted because of the activity itself.”
It’s always the right time to prioritize self-care and life balance. As students become aware of their new facility, the Wellness Corner will promote a better state of mind within the Kent State of Wellness.