As vaccination rates go up and the possibility of in-campus classes increases, students, staff and faculty are thinking about what a transition back to campus may entail – including the mental health challenges that may accompany finding new routines for in-person learning and events.
It’s with this transition in mind that Joshua De Jesus, President of St. Mike’s Wellness Council, has worked with the club to introduce a new annual convention focused on mental health and wellness. “Dignity of the Student: Reimagining Student Leadership” begins today and will run through Sunday, July 11, with each day dedicated to a tenet of dialogue: listening, discussing, and action. The central theme of the convention is the integration of wellness into student leadership.
“Students have always had the challenge of balancing academics with their extracurriculars, but with all of this year’s extra concerns – international students concerned about flying over, students in residence thinking about how to approach living on campus, and so forth – I think we might find student leaders struggling with their own wellness,” De Jesus says. “That’s why we’re making an effort with this convention to empower student leadership and figure out how student leaders can both advocate for wellness while taking care of their own wellness.”
The convention will begin with a Day One program dedicated to “listening,” with remarks from six speakers, including St. Michael’s President David Sylvester; UofT Vice Dean, Undergraduate and former St. Michael’s Principal Randy Boyagoda; and St. Mike’s Wellness Counsellor Nicole LeBlanc. “We deliberately chose speakers representing a range of experiences and styles of leadership and engagement,” De Jesus says, in order to create a diverse context for discussion.
That discussion is the central focus for Day Two, when club members will have opportunities to reflect on the presentations while bringing forward wellness initiatives they would like to pursue in the coming academic year. Five-minute presentations will lead into conversations in which all members will be able to offer feedback and potentially their own help in carrying out the initiatives during the year.
The student-driven approach to both programming and roles within St. Mike’s Wellness Council is the product of a recent “remodeling” of the three-year-old club. Formal titles and roles were reduced to bare essentials, and students are now able to join and define their own roles and initiatives, which De Jesus sees as a means of encouraging students to bring forward their own passions and interests into their work.
“There are no ‘sitting duck’ roles,” De Jesus says. “No club member is there for a title, but each one is associated with an initiative or wellness option.” After the remodel, the club was reduced to three roles. There are now 15 students involved.
On the third day of the convention, those students will bring forward the full agreed-upon slate of initiatives for the club, announcing the actions resulting from the dialogue of the preceding days and setting a plan for the unique year ahead. De Jesus hopes that the event will become an annual occurrence, and a regular check-in on how mental health and wellness are being incorporated into the life of the college.
“Dignity of the Student: Reimagining Student Leadership” will take place from July 9 to 11.