Students gathered in Jamrich on Sept. 4 for the week’s Wednesday Drop-in. The aim of this week’s WellBeing Wednesday was educating students on dorm room cleanliness.
“WellBeing Wednesday Drop-in events are hosted by the WellBeing department, specifically by the WellBeing peer educators and case management interns,” WellBeing Promotions Coordinator Jessica Corkin said.
Every week, the group aims to inform students and give them advice on different aspects of their life they can improve to better their wellbeing, whether that involves their mental or physical health.
“The purpose of this WellBeing Wednesday was to educate students about the impact of their environment on their wellbeing, and [help] students understand how and when to clean their dorms,” NMU WellBeing Center Peer Educator Olivia Headley said.
According to Corkin and Headley, the event was a success.
“We were very happy with the turnout both this week and last week as several dozen students dropped by our two locations,” Corkin said. “I am hoping that as we continue to promote this weekly event, more students will hear about it and stop in. One thing we prioritized was having two locations each week to reach as many students as possible.”
The students who run the events ensure that fellow students receive the information they need through brightly colored fliers and pamphlets, as well as offering free items.
“We passed out pamphlets and a dorm cleaning list,” Headley said. “These explained how to begin cleaning and organizing and gave helpful suggestions about when to clean spaces in the dorm, as well as recommending eco-friendly cleaning recipes on a flier.”
Events such as these can be beneficial for students, especially freshmen and others who are living on their own for the first time.
“My experience has shown that many first-year students haven’t lived on their own and have had their parents help take care of them, so they are learning how to be self-sufficient when it comes to addressing their own needs without outside support,” Headley said. “By having an outreach like this, students can ask questions or take any pamphlets or flyers they think are necessary to help them understand how things work and what habits they can establish to improve their wellbeing.”
Another reason why this event was so successful was the convenience of the tables.
“Students aren’t expected to stick around for a long time,” Corkin said. “Instead, they can stop by as their schedule allows and acquire ‘bite-sized’ information on a specific dimension of wellbeing that they can then utilize.”
An event as successful as WellBeing Wednesday would not be able to happen without the dedication of several groups around campus.
“Several of these events involve collaboration with other departments and student groups, such as Counseling and Consultation, SHINE and EcoReps, which we are very excited about,” Corkin said.
