Student Wellness & Wellbeing

 

Sisu is the Finnish word for perseverance beyond grit. This is my strength word that keeps me going when I feel unbalanced, overwhelmed, or struggling to juggle all my personal and professional responsibilities. Sisu is also the word that reminds me to keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. When I was a freshman at Rutgers, over 20 years ago, my father died of a heart attack. I was devastated to lose my best friend. I had every excuse to quit school and never come back to campus. But sisu and my community at Rutgers kept me going. I openly share this with my students to let them know that experiencing this loss as a college student has helped frame my approach to teaching and emphasizing student wellbeing.

Strength Word

Mid-semester, I ask students what motivates them to keep going and what they need to do to push forward and finish strong. I then ask them to identify their “strength word,” if they choose, they can pick a painted rock and write their word on it. They can keep the rock with their strength word, and I encourage them to place it somewhere they see daily as a reminder.

 

Here are my students’ “strength words” on painted rocks:

*My daughter, Leah, and I painted the rocks. The rocks are river rocks from a garden center (Lowe’s $12). The paint was from a craft store (Michael’s ~$10). We used a simple pour-painting technique to paint the rocks.

 

Positive Intention

Over half of the students on our campus are first-generation and/or low-income. FGLI students face multi-level barriers to completing a college degree and thriving in this environment and beyond. As someone born and raised in the Philippines and the first one in my family to navigate the college experience here in the United States, I am keenly aware of what our students may be facing. In my classroom, I aim to foster a welcoming and inclusive class. I try my best to promote wellness and well-being. I start every class with a POSITIVE INTENTION. I bring a book of motivational quotes to class and have 2 to 3 students read from the page. We do this at the start of our class, and the students remind me whenever I forget. They also have given me feedback on course evaluations and how much setting our positive intention helps with being mentally present in the classroom.

 

 

Student Check-Ins

A stress-relieving and fun check-in/icebreaker at the beginning of class opens up the conversation on how they are doing.

We discuss how to tackle what’s ahead through group discussion, reflection, and peer motivation.