By Luis Olguin, Dec. 13, 2022
On Dec. 7, Sigma Alpha Epsilon President Jonathan Hong held a stress management fair at the Bronco Student Center for students.
All students were welcomed and invited to join Greek Life and the wellness center in learning on how to relax and keep a healthy lifestyle throughout finals. Students were able to meet the organization members of Chi Omega, Zeta Tau Alpha and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. While also taking advantage of free food, there were freebies such as sleep masks and hand massagers. There were also free board games like Uno or Catchphrase where students were welcome to play with. There was also drawing and coloring books available to help students destress.
This was Hong’s first time creating and hosting a stress management workshop for students. He wasn’t alone in the process, however, as he sought aid from his brothers and sisters from Greek Life. As well, he obtained aid from the faculty of the Bronco Wellness Center. The Poly Pantry was of great assistance to help make this workshop possible.
“I love doing events like this where we all come together, because at the end of the day we are all college students that stress with finals, work, and anything like that,” said Hong.
The wellness center offered various strategies and activities on how to manage stress as well as systems to properly aid a student with a heavy workload. Other strategies involved ways to help students stay active and healthy. The “My Plate” strategy is a food management plan that helps people balance their items to maintain a healthy diet.
Physical activities like yoga and stretching were encouraged to help combat stress. There were a few board games and coloring pages offered at the event for students to socialize and unwind. Sororities like Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha offered free colorful stickers and squishes to anyone that came to the event.
Oshini Cooray, a biology major, attended the event to find innovative techniques for stress reduction. Cooray mentioned that crying was her only response to coping with stress.
“I cry; I just let it all out. I bottle it up, then I cry,” said Cooray.
Cooray expressed that this workshop helped her destress. She learned to eat better and enjoyed the stretching. She also learned in this workshop that taking time off is essential for destressing.
Devon Soliz, a biology primary student from SAE, explained that it is essential to relax and not stress too much about finals.
“It is important to trust yourself and that you can do it and realize that you are not alone and there are a lot of students like you,” said Soliz.
Soliz explained that there is a lot of help available, and no one is truly alone. Soliz said he has a great support system with his brotherhood at SAE and knows he can falls back on them for support.
Hong hopes to plan more events like this one in the spring to help students reduce stress throughout the school year. His goal is for these events to continue to grow and create a support system for all students.
Feature image courtesy of Luis Olguin