Managing Stress and Student Success with HCOP

As HCOP participants navigate the college and career landscape, most find that stress is an inevitable part of life. Stress and other mental health issues can affect many areas of students’ lives, and have a direct impact on academic achievement, physical health, and relationships. While many students take time to hone their academic skills, oftentimes good stress management skills are the backbone to student success - in school and beyond.

To this end, HCOP held two sessions to help give students the tools they need for mental health. On January 8th, 2022, HCOP participants were able to engage in a stress management workshop led by Katie Zimmerman from the KIM Foundation®, a foundation geared toward increasing awareness of mental health and reducing suicide rates by opening up the conversation around mental health.

During the workshop, students were able to ask questions, to work in groups, and to learn and demonstrate stress management techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, and breathing. Students also learned signs and symptoms of common mental health issues among peers and family members and received information on how to open up a dialogue on these issues with loved ones.

During HCOP Session 9, on January 29th, Felicia Webster (artistically known as Withlove, Felicia) joined the zoom to delve further into the topic of self-care. During this interactive workshop, students were able to practice mindfulness and self-love in a variety of ways. Participants were asked to come prepared with writing or drawing utensils and paper, and took time to engage in free-writing activities related to thankfulness and defining what self-love looks like to them.

Stress management is fundamental to living a happy, healthy, and productive life - and thanks to the KIM foundation, the HCOP team is better equipped for the task.