Index cards, Post-it notes, stickers and burrito wrappers were spread across the conference room tables as Associated Students hosted a destress workshop. This new event offered insight into how to minimize stress during finals and end-of-the-semester projects.
Organized by second-year finance major and College of Business and Economics Board Director Cesar Mendoza and Co-chair Shay Quock, the workshop deemed “Destress at CBE,” was hosted on Thursday at the College of Business and Economics.
“I think it ties hand-in-hand with the Student Wellness Initiative,” Mendoza said. “We talked to the dean of the business building and he mentioned that this is something that’s not really mentioned in the business world.”
When students walked into the large conference room, they were greeted by the two organizers and the professor, who welcomed students to grab a bag of Chipotle.
The workshop was taught by Phoenix Van Wagoner, an assistant professor in the management department, who used interactive slides that provided statistics and tips for students to manage their stress. Students used their phones to scan a QR code to select the answer they believed was correct.
Van Wagoner began with giving insight into his experience as a college student, and then transitioning to his belief that the workshop should not be used to lecture but to give advice on times that can be difficult or overwhelming.
“I think one of the key takeaways that for me, that I wanted students to have, is that we (have) each other, right? We can help each other. Kindness goes a long way,” Van Wagoner said.
Students spent the last 30 minutes doing an exercise called “the reciprocity ring,” which invited students to anonymously write one challenge they are facing professionally or personally on an index card, then ask for related support, advice or ideas.
“The purpose of the reciprocity ring exercise was to give students a chance to, in an anonymous, safe way, actually provide advice to each other and help,” Van Wagoner said.
One by one, students would get up to pass around an index card and attach sticky notes of advice to the anonymous card in hopes of helping them with that one challenge.
“I really liked the part where we wrote our challenges on the index card and then we passed it around,” said fourth-year nursing major Jessica McKay. “And I liked it because I got to see what other people were struggling with, not necessarily that, but that I did see a lot of myself in other people’s challenges.”
McKay is in her last semester and feels the pressure with her projects as the semester winds down. She came to the distress events hoping to find insight and pointers to help her finish the semester on a positive note.
“This next week, for me, is so intense, just so many things coming up,” McKay said. “But even small things, like that breathing exercise he (Van Wagoner) was talking about and how to do that, but also connecting and giving each other grace.”
With the workshop’s positive ending, both students and professor Van Wagoner look to hold more workshops each semester in hopes to assist students in managing stress and provide a space for mutual support.
“It’s hard to see that others might be experiencing stress to an extent that we may be. Even though they are, we don’t talk about it. So let’s talk about how we talk about it,” Van Wagoner said.