Ways to Flourish

We are continuing on with our 8D series today by talking about occupational wellness! "What are you doing after college?" is the dreaded question that so many college students are asked on a daily basis, and while it definitely isn't necessary to know quite yet, taking steps to care for our occupational wellness can lower stress and add meaning to our lives. We talk to WAs Claire Aminuddin and Emma Voorhees about when we should begin worrying about our careers, how we can care for occupational wellness without having a long-term plan, and what resources on campus will help us explore our career options.

Resources:
Career Development & Professional Engagement website
8 Dimensions webpage

8D is back! Today's dimension is intellectual, a dimension we often engage in given our roles at a university, but for which there are also many ways to tap into outside a classroom. We talk to Wellness Ambassadors Anne Ryan Gareis and Audrey Murcko about what we should prioritize in relation to intellectual wellness, how we can find motivation to  seek intellectual stimulation outside school, and how we can share our intellectual hobbies with others.

Resources:
8 Dimensions webpage

Welcome back to the 8 Dimensions series! Today, we are talking about financial wellness, a dimension that is often overlooked but is applicable to everyone no matter their life stage. The financial world can seem convoluted at first, but Sam Gruber, a Peer Educator from the Boehly Center's Financial Literacy Program, breaks down why it's important to care about finances while still in college, how we can begin productive conversations about money, and what we can do to take care of our financial well-being.

Resources:
8 Dimensions webpage
W&M Financial Literacy Program

Welcome back to the 8D Series! We've talked about environmental wellness on the podcast before, but we've talked a little less about the fact that environmental wellness is not just nature surrounding you. We unpack this fact with Wellness Ambassador Elena McCullough as we also talk about what spaces make us feel the most ourselves, how much contact with the outdoors will make a difference in our lives, and where the best outdoor study spaces are on campus.

Resources:
8 Dimensions webpage
Campus Greenspace Map

We often reference the Eight Dimensions of Wellness on the Ways to Flourish podcast, but we know that eight different dimensions are a lot to keep track of and truly understand. To help with this, we're beginning a series to tackle each dimension in more depth: Welcome to the 8 Dimensions series!

Today, we are kicking off the series with Wellness Ambassadors Becca Gaylin and Katie Diehl to talk about the emotional/mental dimension of wellness. We chat about how a college environment can place stress on our mental well-being, how we can be positive without ignoring our negative emotions, and what resources we can access if we need a little help.

Resources:
8 Dimensions webpage

Ways to Flourish is on the run! William & Mary Homecoming 2022 just took place last weekend, and amidst all of festivities, Ways to Flourish set up on Sadler Terrace to ask W&M alumni and current students a couple questions. To the alumni, we asked the question, "What is one piece of advice you have for your past self?," and to current students, we asked, "What is one way that you flourish on this campus?"

Take a listen to what they choose to reflect upon, and have a happy belated Homecoming!

College is confusing. The college dating scene can be even more confusing, and it's often difficult to figure out what's "healthy" when there are competing pressures of new experiences, other people's opinions, and the media. Today, we talk to Hannah Artiles-Stravers, Assistant Director of the Office of Health Promotion and Sexual Violence, as well as student Eli Svoboda about what challenges arise when dating in college, what effects "hookup culture" has had, and how to know what is best for you in a relationship.

What sounds better to you: learning behaviors that make you feel better temporarily, or learning behaviors that intend to make you holistically healthier for the long term? The answer's clear! SOS (Self-Care Over Soothing) is a program available to W&M students that takes an integrative approach to wellness. Today, we talk to T Davis, Assistant Director of Health Promotion, about the structure of SOS, how the model developed, and how it meets students where they are to help them reach their health goals.

Resources:
SOS website

Organizations on our campus have a lot of opportunities to support specific causes and organize events to raise awareness. It is still Suicide Prevention Month for the month of September, so today, we are talking to Cole McAndrew, William & Mary alumnus and the previous coordinator for the Out of Darkness Campus Walk planned in conjunction with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We talk about what Cole's role has been in organizing the walk, how campus organizations advocate for their causes, and how college students could show support for the topics that they care about.

Resources:
W&M Suicide Prevention Coalition website
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website
Call the W&M Counseling Center at (757) 221-2998
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988