On Tuesday, April 1 the President's Advisory Council (PAC) hosted DESTRESS with PAC! This event was held to kick off the PAC's RealTalk Mental Health Conference. From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., students were welcomed to relax and take a break from their busy schedules in the Greek Lounge of the Miron Student Center. Upon check-in, students were welcomed to choose between a smoothie and acai bowl and pick out stickers with positive phrases. Lynnette Diaz, LPC - Counselor, Amanda Argento, LPC - Counselor, and Meshala Morton - Graduate Counseling Intern of the Kean Counseling Center gave a presentation in the beginning of the event about the resources available for students who need counseling. The presentation was not only informative but also engaged students by asking them what problems they dealt with in life. It challenged students to recognize when it is time to ask for help. Diana Abdelazem, a graduate student studying Global Business Administration from Egypt, shared why she decided to come to the De-stress with PAC event. "I like coloring and plus this a way to de-stress from my anxiety. Coloring makes me feel a little bit relaxed. I focus on coloring instead of my anxiety." There were tables filled with coloring books, colored pencils, Play-Doh, and journals. The small setting provided an intimate feel that allowed participants to unwind and have a peaceful moment. Stephanie Tande, a senior and Psychology and Psychiatric Rehabilitation major from West Africa detailed how her major related to the purpose of the event. "Like I mentioned before, I'm a Psych and Psychiatric major so mental health is kind of my thing. I always try to find ways to de-stress because I can't pour into anybody if I don't pour into myself too," stated Tande. "I typically enjoy coming to these types of events, especially in the middle of the day. The end of the semester is approaching too so this is an important time to learn how to de-stress before finals." Urooj Ali, a junior and Business Analytics major from Woodbridge stated that mental health is a topic that is important to her, especially as a college student. "First, I'm a big advocate for mental health and right now there's a lot of exams going on. I think having something to look forward to, even if it's like a smoothie or like an acai bowl, is really helpful. It helps me to get through the day, it really brightens my mood. I was able to get information on the mental health resources Kean offers." Kean University and PAC prioritize health and well-being. The event acknowledged the issues and difficulties the students on campus go through daily. Students walked away knowing that problems are inevitable, but they can be managed and resolved in a positive way with the help of the resources available on campus.

In continuing with our theme of acknowledging the accomplishments of Kean University's Leading Ladies, the Student Life Media Team's (SLMT) last installment of our Women in Action series highlights our First Lady, Darlene Repollet. Ch'nya Howard, the SLMT Senior Staff Writer, had the honor of speaking with First Lady Repollet about what it means to be in a leading role at the University. Q: How has your Corporate Human Resources Executive background contributed to the initiatives under your role of being Kean University's First Lady?  A: I think the first thing is to talk about the First Lady position and what that means. So, in my role which is really a voluntary role here at Kean University, I do a lot of different things on campus, or I travel with the President. However, other spouse partners at other universities or colleges may not do the same things that I do and that's what makes a First Lady or First Spouse role unique. You have some situations where spouse partners are full-time employees, maybe on campus or off campus, or like myself maybe they don't work full time maybe they're entrepreneurs which is what I'm doing. I like to level set that initially in terms of what does being a First Spouse, or First Partner means. My background for 25 plus years was Corporate Human Resources. There are definitely synergies in terms of what I do as a First Lady to my Human Resources role in corporate and specifically around strategic partnerships. Human Resources really should operate as a strategic partner, meaning the support that you give to the customer group you're in support of or managers, employees, you're always that strategic partner with them and they utilize you for information resources support. And I look at that and say the First Lady position is similar in that way. I believe that I am a strategic partner for the University. In multiple ways, I help moderate the President's Distinguished Lecture Series, I am often asked to be a guest speaker for different events, and then I travel with the President when we're meeting with donors. That's how I view my role as First Lady and bring that correlation and experience from my HR background. Q: What do you believe is your strongest and most important quality (or qualities) as the First Lady? Was this quality learned as you engaged in the role, or do you believe it's innate?  A: My qualities are around serving in a sort of support or service-type arena. I think those are the qualities that lend themselves well to what we're doing here at Kean University. Whether it's supporting students, serving as a mentor, or whether its supporting needs that the University has. Sometimes President Repollet is always everywhere all the time, but he has yet to be able to figure out how to clone himself. Sometimes, I need to fill in for him in terms of maybe a presentation or making remarks at an event for him. I view my role as being support to the University in whatever ways I can. Q: When you reflect over your years in this position, what has been the most challenging obstacle to overcome?   A: The challenge came in the very beginning around time management. There are a lot of different activities that we're always involved in, and I think back now in terms of if I was still working full time, I wouldn't be able to do as much as I do in support of Kean University. Early on, I ultimately for totally different reasons, left that Corporate HR career, but it worked out for the benefit of myself, the President, my family, and ultimately the University because of the busyness that's involved with being in this role and the heavy schedule. The time management aspect and coordination of where we need to be is always a challenge, but it made it easier because I moved into having my own business and that's much more flexible. Q: As you are also a mother, what educational values have you instilled into your daughters?  A: Education is the ultimate in terms of values for our family. Both of my parents were teachers. My mom taught at the elementary school level, and my dad taught at the high school level at vocational school. Growing up clearly education was important. I remember summers when my mom would sit down, and she would teach me how to write over the summer in cursive. It was instilled in me early. The President's paternal grandmother was also an educator. We both know the value of education and the importance of it and what it can mean to a person and then their family. That's what we talk to our girls about, understanding the importance and value of education, that everyone should have access to education, and that they need to take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them in terms of schooling, exposure, and experiences, and really capitalize off that. Without education, where do you go? That's what it's all about, constant learning. And that's one of the fundamental values we have as a family. Q: As we all face adversities, what advice would you give to Kean students who are facing challenges?  A: We all have adversities, challenges, and issues from time to time. I think the most important aspect any time there's a challenge or a struggle is to number one acknowledge that that exists as an issue. Sometimes we might try to ignore it or push it off and not really be truthful about whatever that is. The first thing is acknowledging it and accepting that this is the situation and then finding the resources and talking about it. I think a lot of times as well we may not want to talk to someone else or seek help. We might think that we can address this by ourselves. There are so many resources for students here right on campus and students should take advantage of them not only when all is going well but especially when things aren't going well and there's a challenge. That goes beyond just when you are here at Kean. That's in life to seek the resources that are available to us to navigate life. Q: What influenced your family to begin the Repollet Education Philanthropy (REP) Foundation? In what ways has the foundation changed or impacted the lives of students?  A: The Repollet Education Philanthropy Foundation is our family nonprofit. We talked about education and how important it is to our family. The other thing that we absolutely love as a family is travel. So, we put the two together in terms of this REP Foundation, we merged those two concepts. Our foundation wants to be able to provide funding to students to support their education. But not necessarily in a traditional scholarship sense. We're probably going to be more focused on gap funding or emergency funding for students. We really believe that travel is an extension of the classroom. To whom much is given much is required. From that perspective, what our foundation would also like to do is to be able to support Travel Learns and study abroad for students. The REP Foundation would like to be able to help support funding for travel like that because of the value travel has in helping students to have a broader perspective and different experiences. Q: What legacy do you hope to leave at Kean University as the First Lady?  A: I would hope my legacy as First Lady at Kean is about that I supported the University, supported the students and the community at large in any way that I could, and that the support that I gave helped impact someone, that people took something away from a Distinguished Lecture Series I moderate or from a conversation, they had with me, or I was able to encourage a donor to donate some more funding that led to a scholarship for someone. I'm a behind-the-scenes type of person. I just hope that my legacy is in terms of support for Kean. That I was able to benefit and impact individuals in some way. Q: As students prepare to graduate and enter into their next chapter of life, what life lessons and career advice would you share give to them?  A: There are two things I would say. The first is just because you're graduating doesn't mean you're learning should stop. I really do believe in continuous learning. As an example, we talked about how I transitioned from being in Corporate HR to being an entrepreneur. I had never done anything business-like, so that's been a brand-new learning for me. I would encourage students to not stop learning, being inquisitive, and asking questions. There's so many ways of continuous learning. The second thing is a book by Harvey Coleman and there's a concept called P.I.E. P is for performance, the I is for image, and the E is for exposure. I encourage people to research it. It was meaningful to me when I first started out in my career to understand and learn that just me putting my head down, doing my job every day, wasn't the only thing that was going to help me to have success in my career. I really needed to be conscious about my image and most importantly the exposure, the networking and relationship building that would be so key to my success. We would like to sincerely thank First Lady Darlene Repollet for taking the time to partake in our Women in Action series. It was a great honor to acknowledge her leading role and all she does to support the University and encourage students towards continuous learning. Please be sure to tune into the interviews of our other Women in Action, Dr. Genique Stanislaus, Executive Director of the Kean Wellness Center, and Katherine Gallagher, Senior Vice President for Student Success. Watch Part 3 of the Women in Action series here: https://youtu.be/VVpsig6vKxQ?si=BFcHcFK-cUVX7Um2

On Thursday, February 20, Well-Being at Work and the Kean Wellness Center hosted Love Your Pet Day in Down Hall from 12 to 1 p.m. The event was held in recognition of the national holiday, giving students the chance to unwind and enjoy our furry friends. The organization, Creature Comfort, brought two dogs, Story and Page, for students to enjoy. These Labrador Retrievers love the camera and have modeled for several companies like Walmart and Milk-Bone. Many students took this event as an opportunity to take a breather and get away from their everyday stressors. The dogs were filled with life and fun and made the attendees feel welcomed and relaxed. Nicole Klein, Managing Assistant Director - Employee Well-Being, shared the purpose of Love Your Pet Day. "We teamed up with the Kean Wellness Center to bring Love Your Pet Day to Life. This is an annual international holiday just to celebrate pets," shared Klein. "We wanted to bring in a little bit of a wellness aspect to give faculty, staff, and students a chance to take a break, indulge in some pet therapy and pet love, and just celebrate the day." Many people use pets, especially dogs, as a way to create a tranquil and comfortable environment. Vanessa Bojcev, an Interior Design major and senior from Old Bridge stated what she was looking forward to at the event. "I actually work in the next few minutes, but I saw that this is a nice opportunity to just relax and debrief before I go into work," stated Bojcev. "Interior design and life in general are very stressful. So, I'm here to pet some pets and feel a little bit relaxed while I do so. Letian Jiang, a Communications major and junior from China, detailed his experience with dogs. "My parents also have a dog in our home. I just love dogs, so I wanted to join this activity remembering them. I just feel like the dogs are my friends. They comfort me and it's like I have a friend with me." The Kean Wellness Center and Well-Being at Work successfully hosted an event that allowed students, faculty, and staff to de-stress and take a necessary moment for themselves. The Love Your Pet Day event served as another example of how Kean supports a sense of community and well-being here on campus.

On Monday, March 24, the Office of Career Services hosted the Career and Internship Fair from 12 to 5 p.m. in Harwood Arena. Students had the opportunity to converse with potential employers and learn about the workforce to prepare for employment opportunities. Kean Departments like Gourmet Dining and other industries such as government, legal and law enforcement, education, and non-profit were present. Companies tabling included NJ Office of Legislative Services, Delaware State Police, Uncommon Schools, America Needs You, and Doka USA, Ltd. With over 150 employers meeting students, there was an opportunity for everyone to find an organization that matched their needs and desires. Awa Sene, IT Cybersecurity major and Grad student, from Union shared that she was looking for new job opportunities for herself and her husband. She also explained the qualities she desires in a potential employer. "I look for a good work-life balance, flexible schedule because I like to do a lot of things outside of work that help my personal development...in addition to having a good culture within the workspace." Sene has found companies that match her current skills and allow her to grow to her full potential. "At the American Dream they have a lot of cool corporate and event type roles. I'm a Project Manager so I like to host and manage events. American Dream seems like a good fit for what I'm looking for." Career coaches, alumni, and Kean faculty and staff were also available to help students perfect their elevator pitches before speaking with the representatives of each organization. Lauryn Repollet, an Architecture major and senior from Somerset, stated why she attended the Career and Internship Fair. "I decided to come to the Career Fair today because I am looking for an internship in the summer. I saw on the chart that there's some architecture firms here, so I went to them, and I talked to some of them already." Repollet also mentioned the workplace environment that interests her the most. "[I look for] diversity and I also look at the different projects that they do. Since I'm an architecture major, I like to see what type of projects they do, either it's commercial or residential. Those are some things I look for in a company." The Career and Internship Fair featured healthcare organizations like Link Home Therapy, Alliance Health System, and Hackensack Meridian Health. Kerlyn Samaniego, a Biomedicine major and sophomore from Kearny, stated her desire to apply her major to companies within the medical industry. "I'm looking for hospital jobs and internships. I just want to get involved more in the medical field and have more experience. I'm open to my options." The Spring 2025 Career and Internship Fair offered plenty of options for all students to explore. The fair gave students the opportunity to speak with potential employers and learn more about the fields they wish to pursue after graduation.

This week, Kean University is recognizing mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Cougars for Hope is held from Monday, March 24 to Thursday, March 27 with several events for students to attend. The purpose of Cougars for Hope is to spread joy and share with students the resources available to help them achieve mental well-being. Below is a list of each activity occurring throughout the week. Monday, March 24, activities include Self-Care - Chair Yoga in the VISER Room at 12 p.m. Pawsitivity in the Pre-Function Lobby at 1:30 p.m. Diamonds and Distress in the Cougar Hall Great Room at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 activities include Pulse Check: Wellbeing Survey at the Miron Student Center at 12 p.m. Feel It to Heal It Zumba in D'Angola Room 169 at 12:00 p.m. Poetry Slam in the Human Rights Institute Gallery at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 activities include Journal with Us! In Townsend Room 116 at 11 a.m. Self-Care Coloring in the VISER Room at 12 p.m. Letters for Hope in CAS Room 124 at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 27 activities include Hope Day: Wear Purple! All Day Self-Care Coloring in the VISER Room at 12 p.m. Freshman Cougar Plan and Wellness Kit in Cougar Hall at 2:30 p.m. It is strongly encouraged that all Kean students take advantage of these activities to promote their mental well-being. Here at the university, mental health is prioritized. The campus community is committed to creating a campus environment that supports students in any way along their academic journey.

In honor of Women's History Month, the Student Life Media Team has taken the initiative to highlight some of Kean's prominent ladies for their "Women in Action" series. In the second installment of the series, Courtney-Joy Breeden, SLMT Writer, had the opportunity to touch base with Katherine Gallagher, Senior Vice President for Student Success. Q: Before joining Kean University, you served as Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). What skills and experiences have you been able to transfer to your position here at Kean? A: So, as Deputy Assistant Commissioner, I oversaw branches of the Division of Field Services of the Department of Education, and Field Services is really focused on engaging directly with schools and districts to support students. So, I would say the throughline of my career is really, it's about removing barriers to student success at all different levels and all different ways. And so much of what I've done in my career before is heavily applicable to what I do day in and day out here and it's about systems thinking, it's about being able to put yourself I think in a student's shoes to really understand what the barriers are and more importantly engaging with students and hearing from them directly about what their concerns are, what they're struggling with, what's holding them back from being successful as they want to be. We want every student to persist to graduation, what I did in the K-12 world is similar to what I'm doing now in a higher-ed context which is really just, trying to create opportunity for students. Q: What inspired you to work in "student success," and what life occurrences led you to this role? A: So I always knew I wanted to advocate for students and young people in some regard and what draws me to student success work was I think partly it is a natural extension of what I had been doing in a slightly different context but I also, I can relate to our students in many different ways. I was a transfer student myself, first generation, I made not every mistake in the book but close to it and so I think that drives me to really find innovative ways to support our students in their path to graduation. There are some straightforward ways we can do that like advising but we're always looking to find new and innovative ways to meet students where they are, the world changes quickly and we want to make sure that we're in touch with our students and really helping them get to the finish line. Q: As the Senior Vice President for Student Success, how do you approach students that may feel isolated or challenged by the pressures of achieving a college education? A: We try to individualize our support to students as much as we can and of course, we identify some common themes, [and] some challenges students are facing, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to stay in school and to get to the finish line and so the ways that I try to relate to students is sometimes telling them some of the stories of what I faced as a first gen student. I attended a state university that was not within New Jersey, I didn't fully understand the implications of paying more for tuition, I wasn't there for a specific reason, so that was one of the things that kind of tripped me up a little bit in my educational journey, I did transfer I took some time off and when I was driving home for thanksgiving I was pulled over, I might have been speeding a little bit, but I got pulled over and got a speeding ticket, it was a 300 dollar speeding ticket, I'm going to date myself, there were no cell phones so I drove to the nearest rest stop and honestly just cried my eyes out in my car because I didn't have 300 dollars and I was pretty sure I was going to transfer anyway and that was sort of the moment where I realized, I didn't really have any other options at that point right? So I've been through those moments, where you're kind of wondering am I going to be able to complete this journey, and just feeling the weight of everything can kind of fall in the way of successfully completing…so I think empathy and relating back to some of the struggles I had and just letting students know that they're not alone, it's a challenge for everybody to get to the finish line in their education and many of our students have extraordinary challenges but we have a whole world of alumni out there who have overcome those challenges and are successful today and that's a model for our students I think. Q: What has been the most rewarding experiences and the most challenging? How do you position yourself to produce a positive outcome from a challenging situation? A: I think the most rewarding thing for me is when we're really able to help students resolve a situation that keeps them on track to graduation, it's wonderful to see all the students at graduation, of course, we celebrate those moments but we have teams working within the division all day every day just to try to help keep students on track and remove any barriers to their success and so, you know, seeing and hearing stories about students who are in situations where they might not be able to continue if not for what we're able to provide, which can sometimes be a mini-grant, sometimes it can be helping students find more scholarship funding, that's the most rewarding piece is just watching students be able to stay on their journey and make progress and go out in the world and do great things. Q: What have you learned from working with students in the university? What do you hope students learn from you in return? A: What have I learned from students? I am consistently impressed doesn't begin to cover, I'm blown away by our student's commitment and resilience, some of the stories students tell us about the challenges that they face and they still continue to find a way to be here every day is just, it blows me away so part of what I learned from our students is just that that commitment to learning it really can help move you through if there are appropriate supports available can help move you through any challenge and kind of stay on your path and I sort of knew that but I see that reinforced all the time and that's really beautiful so I'm grateful to our student for that. What do I hope that they've learned from me is just to never give up, when I was overseeing field support teams, I was at the Department of Education… we sometimes had tough days, there were a lot of barriers, so what I used to tell my teams was it's okay to fall down, it's okay to go home feeling defeated, I had a lot of end of the day phone calls with folks who had kind of been through it that day and I said feel everything you're feeling it's totally fair to be there, you got to get up tomorrow and start again and fight another day and I preached that to them because it's a mantra that I live by so I hope that that comes across to my colleagues and our students as well. Q: How does the Division of Student Success and Retention collaborate with other departments at Kean University? What initiatives or programs are in place to ensure students are aware of the resources? A: We do very little in the division that is not in partnership with others across the university, as our President [Repollet] reminds us, student success is everyone's responsibility, that means literally every single person who is a part of the campus community and so we're all about building bridges and working with our colleagues to try to supplement all of the great work that they're doing and kind of galvanize everybody around a common mission to help our students persist to graduation. We're very fortunate we have wonderful colleagues across the university who are just as committed as we are to helping every single student get to the finish line. Let me think of some of the key collaborations that we've taken part in we had an advising task force that generated a report on making recommendations for what advising should look like at Kean moving forward  CAPS is our advising center, the Center for Advising Persistence and Success and it does sit within the division, but the advising task force is composed of folks from all across the university and as we work toward implementing those goals, we're still midway through implementing the recommendations that were included in that report and the implementation has included stakeholders from all across the university and that's the way that we prefer to do things because we really want to make sure that that's part of how we spread the word about what we offer right? It's about making sure that all of our colleagues are aware but also when we collaborate with our colleagues, we are able to sometimes identify barriers for students that we might not otherwise and so that's a critical part of our success. Q: How does this Division keep pace with current trends in technology and academic learning? A: I'm not going to lie, it can be tough, things move quickly and things change quickly and AI  is a perfect example of that so we are always focused on professional learning we try to make sure that everyone in the division has access to attending professional learn events bot on campus and off campus and in other locations, and we sure resources with each other every day so we all read what's going on, if we can't get out to a conference we may participate in a webinar on something like AI right and how it applies to our work and then we try to share that information amongst ourselves its hard sometimes in the business of day to day to stop and focus on the professional learning but if we don't keep up with what's going on then we're not going to be as effective for our students… we try to share information the best ways that we can and we try to just make sure that everyone is engaged in that professional learning and that everyone has opportunities to engage in different ways in that learning. We would like to extend a big thank you to Senior Vice President Katherine Gallagher for participating in our Women in Action series. We acknowledge her success and commitment to the betterment of Kean's student population and for being a spokesperson for students who face obstacles during their college careers. Stay tuned for more empowering stories featured on Women In Action at Kean in our series throughout the remainder of the month.

On Monday, March 17, the Greek Senate hosted Queens in Motion in the Miron Student Center (MSC) Room 226. The event was held in honor of Women's History Month. Queens in Motion presented a panel of women who shared their accomplishments and the obstacles they had to overcome to reach a certain point in their career. The women on the panel were Brittany Claybrooks, Melissa Langley, and Crystal A. Orr. Students were invited to ask the women questions about their careers and how they managed to handle the stressors that accompany it. Justin Jimerson, an Exercise Science major and junior from Edison stated why he attended the event. "I decided to come to Queens in Motion because it is very important to learn about how far black women have come and how powerful they really are." Brittany Claybrooks, an Urban Planning Professional and one of the panelists for Queens in Motion, expressed what she hoped the attendees would learn from the conversation. "I hope that people walk away with understanding that it's okay to still take up more space and that there's still work to do...recognizing how important our voices are, as we are, and not waiting until we get to some place in life where we think it becomes better. I want people to understand how important who they are right now is and what their role can be in making a change." Each of the panelists shared that to be a Queen in Motion means being able to help others, be the backbone of your community, and empower others to pursue their dreams. Also, it is not just about yourself. We are supposed to lift others up and surround ourselves with people who are about change. This encourages the generations after us to have confidence in doing the same. Keyara Gaillard, a Psychology and Exercise Science major and junior from Jersey City shared her view on the event. "I feel like it's important to see black women in this space and lifted up in this light. I just wanted to learn more what they do and just really wanted to get more knowledge on their professions. I want to walk away with more confidence and see how they project it unto us." Based on their experiences and where they are now, the ladies stressed the importance of education and knowing where you want to be. They had moments in their lives where they doubted themselves and questioned their career paths. Looking back, they see that the hard work and dedication was worth it. Queens in Motion was an event that fostered great conversation and inspired Kean students to be confident and pursue their dreams. Students walked away knowing that it is about surrounding yourself with mentors and people who are doing positive things and that patience and knowledge are keys to longevity.

On Tuesday, March 4 the Kean community was welcomed to the Spring 2025 Cougar Pop Up Shop. The Office of Student Retention and Educational Innovation, Career Services, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Cougar Connections Center of Social Work, Kean Wellness Center, and Kean's Bridge to Success hosted the event in Downs Hall from 12:30 to 4 p.m. There was a variety of options for students to choose from for any occasion. Racks were filled with dresses, ties, suits, and blouses for students to shop from. The Cougar Pop Up Shop always has an impressive turnout with an overwhelming number of students attending the event in search of professional and casual clothing to wear without cost. Shakti Moore, a Psychology and Film double major and freshman from Plainfield, stated why she decided to come to the event. "I actually went last semester, and it was really fun. I work in the Office of Admissions so my everyday clothes aren't really things I can wear to work...I'm just here to get stuff for work and cute clothes because they have really nice stuff here." Veronica Vila, an English major and junior from Linden, shared how she was choosing clothing pieces that would cultivate a sophisticated style. "I come every semester whenever they do it because it's a really good way to find new things that I need [like] bags and clothing for professional attire," shared Vila. "I've gotten a bunch of blazers from here. It definitely elevates my clothing and the way that you present yourself when you go to an interview or a conference. It's about having resources available." Juan Gavilanes, a Computer Science major and freshman from Ecuador, was excited about the suit selection available. "[The clothes] are really good. It actually helps me a lot because I was looking for a suit but it's too expensive. Here, I got a free suit basically." Annette Parada, a Communications major and junior from Union City used the event to prepare for the Career Fair. "It's free and we have the Career Fair coming up so I thought it would be a great opportunity to come and expand my closet and pick out some new pieces that I can wear for the Career Fair." Upon leaving the Pop-Up Shop, students were able to visit tables that offer help and resources like NJ Snap, the Offices of Scholarship Services, Financial Aid, and Student Retention and Educational Innovation. Liz O'Donnell, Lead Social Worker in Cougar Connections Center of Social Work, presented a table that asked students to write down what their significant expense is as a college student. "We chose this question because our office supports students who are experiencing basic needs challenges and a lot of their core issues is a lack of funding to purchase things that they need to live on a day-to-day basis like housing, food, finances, things like that," stated O'Donnell. "So, we wanted to know if they're coming here for clothing what might their other needs be. So, a good question to get that is 'What is your biggest college expense?' And the answers have been transportation, food, and the biggest one is textbooks." There was a spread of food that all who were participating in the event could enjoy while learning more about the offices that are available for support and guidance as they continue their academic journey. Each semester many students look forward to the Cougar Pop Up Shop. The event supports the university's mission to assist and empower students in their academic career.

The month of March is dedicated to honoring women's history, celebrating the many accomplishments and acknowledging the contributions of women across the world. This year, the Student Life Media Team (SLMT) had the honor of speaking with some of the leading ladies of the Kean community, highlighting their past and present achievements for the advancement of students and the reputation of the university as a part of our "Women In Action" series. Natalia Andeliz, the SLMT Social Media Manager, had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Genique Stanislaus, Executive Director of the Kean Wellness Center for the first installment of the Women in Action series. Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in health? What steps have led you to become the Executive Director of the Wellness Center?  A: I come from a long line of healthcare providers and civil service workers, so service has always been in my bloodline. It's something that I've always been passionate about, and I knew from a very young age I was going to go into healthcare. I've pursued several degrees in nursing and certifications and that's really prepared me for my role now. I definitely have always looked at the impact of health and wellbeing and how it impacts our community. So, I definitely have taken a path of researching that a little bit more, finding out how my role as a healthcare provider can impact others around us. Several steps in my career has led me to Kean University and becoming the Executive Director of the Wellness Center. Q: What is your definition of wellness and how do you ensure that the Wellness Center reflects your vision?  A: I think we need to think of wellness outside of physical wellbeing. I think it's a lot of mental, social, emotional wellbeing. So, I think if we move beyond just the physical sense of wellbeing, we can really capture wellness as a whole. Wellness is really about balance, resilience, and access to care. If we take all of that as a whole, we're incorporating wellness into our daily living. We are not always going to be in wellbeing and wellness. We have to find a balance between all of it. What the Wellness Center does is we take several offices; we've created an environment where you can get holistic comprehensive care. You can come to one location, you can access your mental health, your physical health, you can access accessibility. We have the food pantry there and we've created just a really safe environment that's judgement free, so that students can come and really attack all the different elements of wellness and wellbeing. Q: What is an initiative or program that you are proud of and that has been proven effective on the Kean campus?  A: We've done a lot of initiatives at the Wellness Center since I've started about three years ago. I think one of the things that really is important to me is not only the mental wellbeing of students and the accessibility but it's the physical wellbeing. At Student Health Services, we have Wellness Wednesdays that we do, and we tackle different topics. We do prevention health, we do education, we do vaccines, we do flu shots. We really want to make our students global health citizens. When they leave Kean, the wellness that they learn here is something that they can bring outside of it. So, working with Health Services and making sure that we are doing outreach on campus outside of the Wellness Center is really important. Students don't necessarily need to come to us to understand what's happening with them, we go to them. That's one of the things I'm really proud of. Q: In what ways do you aid the Wellness Center in adapting to the health and wellness trends?  A: Even outside of being an active student, we're constant learners. So, what I do is I make sure I'm up to date on research and trends. I go to conferences; I speak to other wellness coordinators [because] I have to educate myself every day to know what's going on in the community not just the Kean community but the community at large. One thing I would say to students is never stop learning, never stop educating yourself, and never stop really keeping up to date on what's happening. I do a lot of data collection at the Wellness Center. We collect our data and based on what we collect, that's how we develop programs for students. We know that flu is something that's in our environment right now, so we do flu clinics for students, and we do it for employees as well. We know that mental health has been a struggle for students, so we do outreach, we do groups. It's about collecting data, using that information to develop programs so we can meet students where they are and make sure that we're addressing their needs. Q: What has been the general response from students that have used the Wellness Center's services?  A: We've had an overwhelmingly positive response. It's always so meaningful when a student takes the time out of their day to email me and to let me know that they've interacted with one of my team members or they've interacted with an office. Because of that interaction we have created more stability, and we've changed the situation for them. It's always so meaningful to get that feedback from students knowing that it's not just about coming into the office and seeing someone [but] that the person that they saw or that the office they interacted with actually had a really positive and meaningful impact on them. That's the most positive thing that we get. We get feedback from students that they enjoy the renovations, they enjoy our accessibility services. So, it's just really positive to know that we're impacting our students. Q: What are your long-term goals for the Wellness Center? What resources would be needed to reach those goals?  A: When we are talking about long term goals, I think beyond Kean. We don't want the students just to benefit from our services while they're here. One of the things that we talk about a lot is we want students to be aware of their healthcare needs, we want them to have access to healthcare services, and we want them to be able to advocate for themselves. My long-term goal is to create programs and education where we increase awareness, access, and advocacy for our students so that when they leave Kean, they're able to take these things that they learned here, and they are able to implement them in their life going forward. And what we need to do to be able to do that is we need to have a greater footprint on campus. We need to get outside of the Wellness Center, we need to be on campus, strategically placed so that we can interact with students. Not when they're sick, when they have anxiety or depression, but even on the days that they feel good, we want to let them know that we're still here for you. We have education programs; we have outreach programs that are available to the students. We also want to make sure that they know that we are a safe place for them to come. We have students that come in, they don't know what they need but they end up in the Wellness Center. We're able to identify that maybe it's not us that you need. Maybe we connect you with your Academic Advisor, we connect you with a tutor. So, I just want a long-term goal to have a greater footprint on campus and I want students to be able to leave here with an awareness that they're valued and that they're important and that they can advocate for themselves after they leave Kean. Q: In regard to overall health and wellness, what do you wish students knew more about, or advice would you give to students?  A: I think the most important thing is to know that there are so many resources on campus for students. I think there are resources that students don't even know exist. So, I think informing yourself and making sure that you are aware of what is available to you as students is one of the most important things. Because if it's something that I can't provide at the Wellness Center, we're going to connect you to those resources. So being aware of what's available. You guys are here for four years plus, why not take advantage of some of the resources that are here for you. Also knowing that if your institution can't offer you resources, you need to connect with outside resources. You need to advocate for yourself, you need to speak up for yourself whether its academic, whether its health, you need to make sure that you're advocating for what you need on a daily basis because honestly when it comes to down to it, you're going to be your best advocate you're going to be the best person that's going to say this is what I need right now, this is what I need help with. So, I think the most important thing to teach young people beyond being here when they leave the university is always advocate for yourself, always make sure that you're aware of the resources, make sure you have access to those resources. We would like to thank Dr. Genique Stanislaus for taking the time to participate in our Women in Action series. It was an honor to feature the accomplishments and efforts that contribute greatly to the actions of the Wellness Center and the Kean University community. Look out for more empowering stories throughout the month of March. Watch part 1 of the Women in Action series, here: "Women in Action" Series PT. 1 Featuring - Dr. Genique Stanislaus