A comforting room full of blankets, pillows, fidget toys, and calming music, the Peace and Wellness Space is a place for students to open up and relieve stress. Although it’s well-known, the students who helped create PAWS are often left uncredited.
“The Wellness Youth Council is a group of students that act as an advisory board and make mental health campaigns throughout the school,” Teshionda Nickerson said. Nickerson is M-A’s mental health support specialist and a founder of the WYC.
She started the council because she believed student input was important to adequately address student needs. “If you are going to create something for students, it needs to be somewhat student-led because you guys know what you need,” Nickerson said.
Before PAWS, Nickerson opened the Zen Den in 2021. It was a place for students to go when they felt overwhelmed or stressed, which was especially needed after online school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, it soon became a place of disarray where students would use phones, take tests, and have meetings. “At any given time, you never knew who was there for what, and it became chaotic and hard to manage,” Nickerson said.
This made way for the WYC’s first goal: to improve the former Zen Den so students could take much-needed breaks and get help in moments of crisis. The WYC contributed to the center’s renovations, designing a new logo and choosing the name PAWS. Once PAWS was open to students, the goals of the WYC shifted. “Its main purpose now is to have student feedback and input revolving around mental issues on campus, and have them lead the charge on it,” Nickerson said.
The WYC has worked to spread awareness about many mental health problems. “We have started to work on projects and initiatives focusing on reducing the stigma around mental health we have here at M-A,” Dominic Auer, president of the WYC, said.
This past school year, they partnered with Safe Space, a mental health-focused organization, and brought speakers to spread awareness about men’s mental health. WYC members also received mindfulness training, where they learned how to calm students down and reduce their stress levels.
In the future, the WYC is planning to continue bringing speakers on campus to discuss mental health. In addition, they will be organizing lunchtime activities aimed at fostering a more inclusive, supportive, and connected community.
