By Meghan Kennedy, Contributing Writer
The month of September is all about self-improvement, and this gives us time to sit back and reflect on what we could improve about ourselves. Self-improvement looks different for everyone, but it is important to think about it so we can continue our growth as individuals.
Although there are many ways to self-improve at home and in your daily life, there are also many resources at Saint Leo University that can help enhance your personal, mental, and physical health.
With the new Wellness Center on campus, there are many opportunities for students to get involved and enhance their physical well-being. There are all kinds of fitness classes, which allow students to pick from a variety and choose something that they would enjoy doing. Classes include HIIT workouts, Zumba, spin, core workouts, yoga, and lots more.
For beginners, there is a class that serves as an introduction to the gym and teaches the basics of how to use machines, weights, and cable pulls. This can help students who want to start going to the gym on their own, but don’t know where to start. Not only are there group fitness classes, but there are also three personal trainers to choose from to have a one-on-one session that fits your needs.
For the self-improvement of your mental health, counseling services can also be found in the Wellness Center for students wanting help with their mental and emotional health. These services are free for students who are currently enrolled at Saint Leo and are completely confidential so students can speak their minds about things that they may be going through.
Going to counseling can allow students to become more self-aware and allow them to come up with reasonable ways to deal with any issues they may be having. Not only is there private counseling at the wellness center, but they have also begun a program called “Wellness Wednesdays.”
The counseling staff holds psychoeducational groups where students can come together and hear about different topics regarding emotional and mental health. This can even help students feel connected to others who may be going through the same thing.
If neither of these counseling services is something you are interested in, you can also call (352) 588-TALK anytime and any day of the week to speak to a licensed therapist.
Another way to help self-improvement could be visiting the CAVE on the first floor of Kirk Hall. In this area, there are many different resources to help with academics. There is PAL coaching, peer tutoring, and Supplemental Instruction to help students reach their academic goals.
Peer-Assisted Learning coaching (PAL) can help students learn new and effective ways to manage their course work and organization skills, improve reading, studying, and note-taking skills, new ways to study, and overall figure out which strategies work best for them to achieve academically. These are 30 or 50-minute sessions that students must sign up for by appointment.
Additionally, peer tutoring is another resource available to students and they are allowed to stop by at any time for this in the CAVE. The tutoring is free and allows students to get help in a variety of subjects.
The last resource in the CAVE is Supplemental Instruction, which allows students to attend weekly study sessions for difficult courses, collaborate with other students in the same course, and help improve your grades by studying and working your way through the course as a group. All of these are great resources to help students reach their academic goals in a way that is comfortable for them.
Overall, this month gives everyone time to reflect on themselves and decide what they would like to improve and enhance about themselves. Whether it be finding new hobbies, or working with other resources to better yourself, there are always ways to improve your well-being. Even though September is known as the month of self-improvement, there is never a wrong time to begin to work on yourself and become the best version of yourself you can be.
