Introduction
Hello Miners,
If you can believe it, September is already underway and we have made it a few weeks into the semester. We hope your semester is starting off on the right foot, and if you have been struggling a little, no worries- we got you!
In our 29th volume of the Wellness Connection Newsletter for Students, we are making your success at S&T the focus- and not just academic success. Having a well-rounded experience is important, so we’ve focused on academics, mental health, getting individualized support, and ways you can make S&T feel more like a second home.
We are additionally spotlighting Recovery Month and World Suicide Prevention Day, both of which are events that, in their own way, bring attention to mental health concerns and how we can support ourselves and those around us.
We hope you enjoy this edition, and please remember that the Student Well-Being department is always here to support any and all versions of success for you.
With warm regards,
Mak the Mole (and The Student Well-Being Office)
Data Brief: Main Stressors of S&T Students and How to Set Yourself Up for Success
We all experience stress, whether it be academic, personal, from other causes, or a mix of many stressors. With all these stressors (that are normal to experience!), it’s important to know ways to prepare and set yourself up for success before getting overwhelmed.
*Data below comes from the 2023 Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors*
- Academics and School Work: 87% of S&T students report this as a main stressor
- Ensure any needed accommodations are set up
- Attend classes and go to office hours/study times
- Get organized and stay on top of tasks
- Time Management: 47% of S&T students report this as a main stressor
- Practice and learn new time management skills
- Get assistance from campus departments, such as the Student Success Center
- Plan time each day for studying, getting organized, and self care
- Mental Health Concerns: 30% of S&T students report this as a main stressor
- Access resources available to you, such as the Student Well-Being department and BetterYou
- Practice self care regularly and take time to allow S&T to feel like a second home
- Always remember that you are not alone- you can access the suicide prevention lifeline 24/7
- Future Plans and Finances: 46% of S&T students report this as a main stressor
Boost Your Well-Being: Setting Up Accommodations
Students with disabilities often encounter disability-related barriers that would prevent them from fully participating in S&T’s learning opportunities and from demonstrating their understanding of material covered in University courses. Student Accessibility and Testing (SAAT) is available to assist students in establishing accommodations that address these barriers and facilitate access.
Students with documented disabilities who would like to establish accommodations at Missouri S&T should:
When SAAT receives an application requesting accommodations, they reach out to the student to schedule a meeting with an Accommodations Advisor. In this meeting, disability-related barriers and possible accommodations are discussed. Establishing accommodations is an individualized, collaborative process. Each accommodation established addresses a specific disability-related barrier.
Student Responsibilities Include:
- Requesting faculty notification letters from SAAT each semester.
- Providing reasonable notice to apply accommodations (i.e. it may not be possible to apply accommodations to a test two days after letters are requested)
- Discussing the implementation of accommodations with each of their instructors; if there are concerns or questions, SAAT (dss@mst.edu) should be contacted as soon as possible.
Faculty Responsibilities Include:
- Upon receiving a faculty notification letter, ensuring approved accommodations are implemented in a timely manner
- Contacting Student SAAT to discuss concerns or questions related to the implementation of accommodations as soon as possible
- Treating accommodation information as confidential and protecting the privacy of students who receive accommodations
Student Accessibility and Testing Responsibilities Include:
- Determining reasonable and appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities on an individualized basis, with documentation verification
- Facilitating accommodations for eligible students
- Serving as a resource to assist in facilitating access for students with disabilities
It is important to remember that many disabilities and limitations, both short and long term, can be helped with proper accommodations. Short term limitations could be an injury or illness; long term limitations could be learning disabilities, health related concerns or chronic illnesses, or psychological concerns.
For additional information about disability-related accommodations, visit saat.mst.edu or contact Student Accessibility and Testing at dss@mst.edu or (573) 341-6655.
Boost Your Well-Being: Time Management Tips
Whether you are an incoming freshman or a returning student, starting the school year strong is very important. Half the battle is learning how to time manage and having good organizational skills. Check out these tips and tricks to help you manage your time wisely and set yourself up for success!
- Prioritize what needs to be done first. Getting assignments done in the order they are due is important. This will allow you to take your time and work on assignments day by day, instead of rushing to finish one at the last minute.
- Take a look at the assignment when it is posted- do not wait. Taking a peak at what the assignment is will allow you to plan how much time you will need to complete it and see if you will need some help with it. You do not have to start it right at that moment, but this will help you organize it into your week and let you start thinking on how to accomplish it.
- Set self-imposed deadlines ahead of actual deadlines. Getting your assignments done a day or two before the deadline will give you time to ask questions and double check your work. This will also help if you have a day become busy out of nowhere, you have some work done so it’s not a race against the clock.
- Plan gaps in your schedule. Things do not always go as planned, so it’s nice to have dedicated time for impromptu plans that pop up. You can also use this time to refresh, relax, grab a bite to eat and focus on yourself. Having this dedicated time will allow you to stay balanced and make you feel better about getting work done throughout the day.
- Hide your phone or turn off your notifications. Getting distracted by our phones is now a very common occurrence in our day to day. When it's time to get some work done, hide your phone or turn it off. This will allow you to focus on your task at hand and have a brain break to focus on more important material. Manually setting time limits on your most used apps would also be beneficial if you do not want to turn off your phone all the way during study time.
- Use Sunday for planning. As the weeks get busier, it is smart to start planning in advance. A perfect time to do this is Sunday afternoon or night. Take some time to write down or think about your week, both with school and extracurricular activities. This allows you to start fresh every week and have a mental note of what's to come next.
- Try the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique has you work in 25 minute increments followed by a 5 minute break. Four sessions equal two hours of deep work. It’s best for studying for large tests and getting longer assignments done. This technique will allow you to save energy when working. It also allows you to have a window to complete shorter tasks such as checking your email. PomoFocus is a great timer dedicated to this technique.
Technology is a great tool to utilize while staying organized. Here are some fun apps that help with scheduling and management:
- Floret- Cute Planner & Agenda (Floret): Floret is an aesthetic self-care planner. It allows you to organize your day and track your daily and over time mood. You can make events, tasks, and habits into home screen widgets and notification reminders.
- Avocation- Habit Tracker (Avocation): Track your habits and watch your plant grow! Your virtual plant grows as you complete your selected daily tasks and goals. This is a cute way to stay motivated with your day to day and introduce healthy habits into the school year.
- Penbook (Penbook): If you enjoy taking notes on a device during class, this is a way to make notetaking more fun and enjoyable! It will also keep all your notes organized as you can create individual notebooks for each class!
There are also several campus resources that help students with their management. These are some to mention a few:
- Student Success Center: Not only does the Student Success Center offer one-on-one academic assistance, but they have Student Success Coaches that help you create a game plan for the semester and provide strategies with time management, note taking, study skills, organization, and more. Go to https://studentsuccess.mst.edu/coaching/ for more information on success coaches and scheduling appointments.
- LEAD (Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines): LEAD allows students to get help with homework in the form of collaborative learning centers and drop-in tutoring sessions. Planning to attend a LEAD session will give you a designated time to work on that class's assignments and have some extra help nearby if needed. Check out https://lead.mst.edu/schedule/ for LEAD sessions times and locations.
- Curtis Laws Wilson Library- Sometimes the hardest part about starting to study is finding a place to go. The library gives students a set study space. With spaces to collaborate with others and an entire quiet floor for individual studying, it is a great location to get some work done. See https://libcal.mst.edu/hours/ for the library hours.
Always remember- there is plenty of time in the day. If you take measures to manage your time well, everything is accomplishable.
Featured Resource: Joe's PEERS
Looking for ways to be involved? Joe’s PEERS is a perfect way! Joe’s PEERS is a student leadership organization that promotes health and wellness by providing education, encouragement, and resources to Missouri S&T students. These students help with Well-Being’s large scale events, tabling, and other outreach throughout the year. Some of Joe’s PEERS area of focus include mental well-being promotion, alcohol, cannabis, and other drug harm reduction, sexual violence prevention, healthy relationships, and nutrition & fitness.
PEER educators are leaders and role models to all students. A Joe’s PEER should be kind, respectful, and inclusive to all others. They are also expected to have a good general knowledge of campus and community resources that relate to wellness. Along the way, PEER educators will obtain skills and experiences with public speaking, communication, teamwork, and self-management. Overall, the main goal of Joe’s PEERS is to help and act as resource persons to the campus community.
Joe’s PEERS time commitment is 3-4 hours a week. Weekly meetings are held every Monday during the semester at 12pm.
Interested in Joe’s PEERS? You can apply to become a member at wellbeing.mst.edu/peer-education/joes-peers/ or directly at this interest form!
Featured Resource: BetterYou App
Prioritizing your wellness can be a challenge in today’s world for a busy college student! That’s why Missouri S&T has partnered with BetterYou. You can set a goal to get more sleep, hit a few more steps, keep in touch with loved ones, or meditate for a few more minutes this semester. Your mind and body will appreciate it. And your wallet will appreciated it- working toward and completing your goals allow you to get cash rewards to be used at hundreds of your favorite places, such as Starbucks, Dominos, Amazon, Apple, Applebees, over 200+ retailers, and so many more.
To learn more about the app, download, see tutorials, and more, visit wellbeing.mst.edu/betteryou.
Featured Resource: 988
988 is now the three-digit dialing code that routes callers to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (or 988 Lifeline). On July 16, 2022, the Lifeline transitioned away from the National Suicide Prevention Line reached through a 10-digit number to the three-digit 988 Lifeline.
When people call, text, or chat with the 988 Lifeline, they are connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing 988 Lifeline network, made up of over 200 local crisis centers. These counselors are trained to provide free and confidential emotional support and crisis counseling to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, and connect them to resources. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the United States.
To access the 988 Lifeline, simply call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to chat online.
Featured Resource: Recovery Month Resources
National Recovery Month (Recovery Month), which started in 1989, is a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery in all its forms possible. Check out some resources for yourself or for others in honor of Recovery Month!
- Individualized Consultations with Student Well-Being: When you meet with a wellness coordinator, you can discuss your alcohol, marijuana, or other substance use and learn ways to reduce or quit. These programs are not abstinence based and are judgement free.
- Miners4Recovery Group Counseling: Explore your behaviors, reflect on ideas for change, avoid negative consequences related to drugs and alcohol, and experience the support of a safe group. This is not an abstinence-only group and is led by a counselor.
- Collegiate Recovery Ally Training: This quick, online training is intended to help faculty, staff and students support individuals in recovery from substance use disorders.
Mindful Moment: Quick Planner Tips for the Semester
We know college life can be challenging because there are so many tasks, projects, tests, and extracurricular activities to balance. An organized planner can be your closest friend, assisting you in managing your obligations and lowering your stress levels. Here are some short and practical suggestions to help you maintain an agenda or planner that is prepared for college life.
- Choose the Best Planner: Find a planner that meets your requirements and tastes. Whether it is a paper or digital planner, make sure it includes enough room for your daily, weekly, and monthly calendars, as well as spaces for to-do lists, goal tracking, and notes.
- Color-Coordinate Your Tasks: Each type of tasks, such as academics, personal, work, and extracurricular activities, should be assigned a different color. It is critical that the colors used are clearly apparent and distinguishable from one another. This simple visual cue can help you quickly identify and prioritize projects depending on their relevance and urgency, allowing you to glance at your chores and instantly distinguish their respective categories. Avoid utilizing identical hues, such as five different tones of blue, as this may cause confusion and defeat the objective of color coordination. Choose significantly contrasting colors that make it easy to identify the work type at a glance.
- Use Abbreviations and Symbols: Create a set of personalized abbreviations and symbols in your planner for common activities and events. For example, "M" is for meetings, "A" is for assignments, "E" is for exams, and "B" is for birthdays. This shortcut will save you time while keeping your planner neat and tidy!
- Prioritize and Highlight: Take a few minutes each evening or morning to assess and prioritize the day's work. Highlight the most important ones that must be done so that you can concentrate on what is most important.
- Include Breaks and Self-Care: College life might be strenuous, so it's critical to prepare for breaks and self-care activities. Setting aside time for leisure, exercise, and socialization will help you maintain a good balance and avoid burnout. Give the Pomodoro technique a try!
- Schedule Weekly and Monthly Planner Reviews: Schedule time each week and month for thorough planner evaluations. Reflect on your progress, reevaluate your goals, and make any necessary revisions. This practice will assist you in remaining proactive and adaptable throughout the college term.
Remember that a structured planner is only useful if it is used and updated on a regular basis. Make it a habit to check your planner numerous times every day to ensure you're on track and ready for whatever comes next. You'll feel more in charge of your college life and have the confidence to face any problems that come your way with good planning and organization.
Mindful Moment: Dorm Decor Essentials
Let's make your new college area seem like a pleasant and welcome home with some dorm decor staples that will make you smile every time you walk in.
First and foremost, hang lights! These lovely light fairies will bring a warm and inviting glow to your space. String them across your bed frame or along the walls to create a dreamy environment ideal for relaxing or studying with friends. What about a personalized neon name sign? It's more than simply a decoration; it's a personal touch that says, "This is MY space!" Personalize it with your name or a catchy phrase, and watch it turn into a cool conversation starter anytime your friends come around. A thin over-the-door mirror or one that can be mounted on a wall are both good options as some dorm rooms also lack mirrors (the adhesive tile mirror won't remove any paint during removal).
Consider adding something to display images for those times when you miss home or want to add a personal touch. You can create a collage of memories that offer you joy and comfort by putting pictures, notes, or other mementos on a bulletin board. Don't forget to decorate the blank walls with some art. The Lorien Stern tulip decals are fantastic. They may be positioned virtually anywhere to provide brightness to your room. Remember that you can always decorate your dorm to your liking!
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Download the September 2023 Wellness Connection here: September 2023 Wellness Connection Newsletter
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