Just because pandemic-era distancing has relaxed doesn’t mean the toll on mental health has faded. Throw in the pervasiveness of social media, and you’ll find a lot of students still struggling.
“Having a million friends and followers isn’t the same as having really close people in your life,” says Carrie Landa, executive director of Student Wellbeing. “The pandemic blew that open in a different way, because we were not only emotionally disconnected from people but also physically disconnected.”
Recognizing the impact of this lingering effect, the University has put a spotlight on student wellness across all dimensions—emotional, social, physical, professional—not only expanding the physical space of Student Health Services but its programs and resources.
The push builds on the success of the Wellbeing Project, an initiative launched in 2019 upon the recommendation of the University-wide mental health task force. Landa was tapped last year to lead the initiative, which seeks to centralize, streamline, promote, and expand programs and resources, including baking some into the curriculum.
“Many of the skills we’re talking about transcend being in college,” Landa says. “I think that’s also an important piece of this. When you go out into the world, whether you’re an executive or a lawyer or a writer or a musician or a physician, you need these skills.”