Previously located in the Dickey Health and Wellness Center, Wellness Services has moved to its own space on the second floor of the Vaughn Center.
By Gloria Falach
TAMPA, Fla. — Wellness Services is now located in the Vaughn Center, room 230. The Wellness Services office has new and improved resources for all students at The University of Tampa (UTampa) to enjoy.
Moving the Wellness Services office to Vaughn was intentional as a way to make them visible and accessible to students. They wanted the office to be a place where students naturally go to hang out, eat, and study, said Abigail Pertkiewicz, wellness coordinator.
“Having our office in Vaughn makes it easier for students to stop by casually, ask questions, or check out resources without needing to go out of their way,” said Pertkiewicz. “We want wellness to be part of students’ daily lives, not something separate.”
Wellness Services offer a wide range of resources that UTampa students can take advantage of when needed. These resources include one-on-one consultations with our peer wellness coaches to the peer nutrition coaching program, resilience rest workshops, educational programs, and take-home kits.
The purpose of the peer wellness coaches is to help with students’ overall well-being, including anything from mental, emotional, physical, and even financial well-being. Before you book a session with a peer wellness coach, students fill out a survey about their needs and well-being, so the coaches can better facilitate the students’ needs, said Divya Parret, one of the five peer wellness coaches.
“We did a 40-hour training during the summer with Real Balance Wellness Coaching, which gave us a very in-depth training on how to properly navigate and facilitate clients,” said Parret. “We got a bunch of resources and methods to help clients.”
The most popular resource among most students is the wellness room. The wellness room has two massage chairs, meditation mats, aromatherapy, coloring books, and self-help books. Students can book a 30-minute appointment to use the room to rest and relax after a long day.
In addition to the wellness room, the resilience reset workshops are another resource that will help students understand their mental health.
“The resilience reset workshop is a 19-minute workshop that is designed to teach students about addressing common concerns, such as anxious feelings, stress, and loneliness,” Parret added. “It helps students build their confidence and ability to deal with challenging situations.”
The resilience reset kits are grab-and-go resources for students, filled with tools such as grounding exercises, stress balls, and reflection prompts that help students quickly reset when needed.
“I think all the new resources are a good thing for freshmen who don’t want to talk to an adult about certain things and would rather talk to someone their own age that they feel like will better understand them,” said Allyson Snyder, a sophomore pre-nursing major, who has not taken advantage of these resources yet.
“And the nutrition coaches would help because freshman year, you have to learn how to eat on your own and make good choices for your body,” she added.
Wellness Services’ goal is to provide students with tools and strategies to help them feel more confident about managing their health and well-being as they navigate college, Pertkiewicz added.
To book an appointment with a peer wellness coach and get more information on the many resources offered in the Wellness Services office, students are encouraged to visit the Wellness Services website or visit Vaughn room 230.
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Photo courtesy of Gloria Falach.