By Sarah Gilley, Copyeditor
October 10 is Worldwide Mental Health Day and Saint Leo University did their best to help their students.
With midterms approaching and the semester in full swing, Saint Leo made sure that their students had time to take a step away from all the hustle and bustle that comes along with being college students.
Saint Leo hosted the Worldwide Mental Health Day event, in collaboration with SheSpeaksSolutions, Inc.
According to SheSpeaksSolutions website, they are on a mission “to enhance mental health awareness in the community that develops viable options with solutions for those that are most affected by mental health matters.”
This event was aimed not just to help the Saint Leo students learn alternative ways to connect and improve their mental health, but it was a way for the Saint Leo community to come together to help each other out.
Students were encouraged to come with friends or classmates and relax. All the students had to do was sign in, grab their blue tickets, and enjoy the activities.
With activities ranging from meditation to yoga, to massages, to painting, to motivational speaking, there was something for everyone. The painting station piqued a large amount of student’s interests, including Jillian Palvo, a junior majoring in psychology.
“I think that painting helps my mental health because it just kind of takes me away from all the schoolwork I have to do,” said Palvo.
Another student, Cole Washko, a junior majoring in English, went on to agree with Palvo.
“I am not a big painter, and I probably could not even stay in the lines, but it is just nice to be around my fellow peers and see us all relaxing and working on ourselves together,” said Washko.
Saint Leo is known for their six core values—community, excellence, personal development, respect, integrity, and responsible stewardship—and this event was a way for all six of these values to be at play. It could be through yoga with friends (community) or listening to the motivational speaker, Lola B. Morgan (personal development). Overall, the event was a huge success, and the Saint Leo students absolutely loved it.
For any additional inquiries regarding SheSpeaksSolutions, students can message them through their email, shespeaksnjn@gmail.com. If you or someone you know may need a little extra help with their mental health, you can reach out to Saint Leo’s counseling department at counseling@saintleo.edu.
