The Wonderful World of Wellness Peers

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Part of the initiative of Harvey Mudd College Wellness is to increase student interest in well-being. In order to do so, a new group of students called the Wellness Peers were formed on campus this year. The idea behind the creation of the Wellness Peers was that students are more likely to listen and want to talk to their friends and peers about various aspects of wellness. So, in came the Wellness Peers, who host events on campus that promote the eight dimensions of wellness.

The Wellness Peers meet weekly for lunch to discuss, create, and volunteer for wellness events. Some recent events include healthy heart tips for Valentine’s Day, personalized sleep masks to promote good sleeping habits, and the party No Luck Needed, which encouraged social wellness (and had chocolate fountains and Sisu the dog, pictured below!). Many of the smaller events are held in front of the Hoch during lunch, making it easy for busy Mudd students to participate, while the larger ones sometimes serve as an alternative to party culture.

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Some of the Valentine’s Day cards that the Wellness Peers had for students to send to one another.

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Kelly McConnell (’17) with Sisu, the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs’, or Dean Leslie Hughes‘, dog, who came to the party No Luck Needed.

Since the Mudd academic schedule can be very heavy, the Wellness Peers work encourage students to maintain wellness outside of academics. The general consensus of the Wellness Peers is that the job is really fun as they are given so much creative freedom with their events. Many of them are very passionate about the aspects of wellness that they promote, so they really enjoy what they do.

Wellness Peers and Michelle Harrison, Wellness Coordinator, pose with personalized sleep masks at their event outside of the Hoch.

Wellness Peers and Michelle Harrison pose with personalized sleep masks at their event outside of the Hoch.

Aside from the events they create now, there are a few plans in place for the future of the Wellness Peers. Though Dean Q, Associate Dean of Health and Wellness, and Michelle Harrison, Wellness Coordinator, are awesome, between their busy schedules and the Mudd academic workload, it can sometimes be hard to quickly find a time for an appointment that works for both parties. However, there are plans for the Wellness Peers to receive training in talking with students about their concerns and holding office hours to make it easier for students to schedule time to talk with someone about wellness concerns, which may be implemented in the coming school years as the Wellness Peer group grows.

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Dean Q giving a talk to students at the Sophomore Retreat.

P.S. Thanks to Sophie Graf (’18) for her description of what it is like to be a Wellness Peer!