Mattie Peri
The Health and Wellness Center and Office of Student Engagement set up tables in the Student Union to share resources for students who might be stressed by the upcoming finals week.
Students gathered in the Student Union on Wednesday to learn helpful techniques and tricks to de-stress for finals.
The StressLess Fest, held at the end of both the spring and fall semesters, had various offerings for students and faculty members. Including a painting table, two different mental health care practices, free produce, emotional support dogs, and free massages courtesy of students from AACC’s massage therapy program.
“If you just want a moment of, like, mindfulness and just, like, taking care of yourself,” Adriana Jones, first-year health and human services student, said. “To find peace a little bit. … Petting the animals is really [good for that] … [it’s a] fun time. And doing this is very grounding.”
The Health and Wellness Center collaborated with the Office of Student Engagement to host the StressLess Fest.
Michelle Chavez, a first-year business major, said she really enjoyed the event because it helped her “connect with people, for sure. Because I don’t really know a lot of people here [on campus].”
Stephanie Jenkins, a registered nurse, wellness specialist, and substance misuse expert, helped organize the event.
“[We] wanted to give [students] some other strategies and things that they could do, like painting a canvas, or therapy dogs, or, you know, massage therapy,” Jenkins, said. “So, things that we could do to just help them and give them different ideas of ways to reduce stress.”