{"id":242583,"date":"2026-03-20T07:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=242583"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:38:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:38:59","slug":"a-commitment-to-students-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/03\/a-commitment-to-students-well-being\/","title":{"rendered":"A Commitment to Students\u2019 Well-being\u202fis Focus of Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Health Promoting University Well-Being Symposium\u202fwas\u202fheld on March 11 at the Student Union as\u202fan opportunity to combine data with testimonies and self-reflection, all with the intention\u202fto create meaningful systems for the student body.\u202f<\/span>Discussing well<\/span>–<\/span>being, there<\/span> was emphasis\u202fon students\u2019 sense of value and belonging.\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Survey data was\u202fpresented at the symposium. Data points like: \u201cStudents who identified as a LGBTQIA+ community member had a 32% lower sense of value at UConn”; \u201cStudents who identified as African American were\u202f63% more likely to report feeling symptoms of depression\u202fon a daily basis\u202fthan their peers who identified as White”; and\u202f\u201cStudents who use the recreation center at least once per week have nearly a 10% increase in their sense of belonging than their peers who did not,\u201d\u202fwere then used to prompt self-reflection.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Only 10.2% of undergraduate students completed the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey<\/a> in 2024.\u202fThe survey captures students\u2019\u00a0<\/span>perceptions<\/span>\u202fof their academic, institutional,\u202fand social experiences at R1 universities nationwide. It serves as a tool to highlight trends in undergraduates\u2019 academic engagement, well<\/span>–<\/span>being, personal development, overall satisfaction,\u202fand educational experience. As the next SERU undergraduate survey\u202fwill soon\u202fbe released on March 24, students are being asked to\u202fcomplete it to inform administrators\u202fwhat needs to be done to\u202f<\/span>improve\u00a0<\/span>their well<\/span>–<\/span>being.\u202f<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Renee Gill presenting the 2024 SERU survey. (Anna Heqimi\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Allison Johnston\u202fis a graduate student studying\u202fHigher Education and Student Affairs. She is also\u202fa graduate\u202fassistant for\u202fthe\u202fresidential Wellness Community<\/a>, supporting first- and second-year students\u2019 holistic\u202fwell-being\u202fas they acclimate\u202fto\u202fthe\u202fcollege experience. She\u202fencourages\u202fher students to be\u202fengaged\u202fwith community\u202finitiatives\u202fsuch as attending the symposium, while\u202fparticipating herself to\u202flearn about students’ needs.<\/p>\n

After\u202flistening to students report\u202fthey had slightly increased feelings of\u202floneliness\u202fand isolation\u202fafter their first year of college, Johnston\u202fshared\u202fhow\u202fshe too felt lonely during her sophomore year after parting ways with her friend group. She began to feel a sense of belonging\u202fagain\u202fafter applying and working as an orientation leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI created some lasting friendships. I was able to connect with incoming\u202fstudents,\u202fand\u202fI felt I was having an impact\u202fon incoming Huskies,\u201d Johnston\u202fsaid.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After examining quantitative data and listening to personal reflections, the symposium included a data-ranking activity<\/span>. Student\u202fparticipants\u202franked data based on various\u202fposted questions\u202fon one side of the room,\u202fand faculty and administrators did\u202fthe same on the other side of the room. Students agreed that out of all the available data,\u202f\u201cStudents reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation increasing slightly after their first year at UConn\u201d\u202fwas something they\u202fbelieved\u202ftheir peers who did not attend the symposium should be\u202faware of. They also\u202fbelieved that\u202fif the University could improve this\u202foutcome, it would have the greatest impact on undergraduates.\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Renee Gill,\u00a0<\/span>who leads community engagement\u00a0<\/span>for the\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>ealth\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>romoting\u00a0<\/span>u<\/span>niversity\u00a0<\/span>movement at UConn<\/span>,\u202fwas the main\u202ffacilitator\u202fand planned the seminar’s agenda. Gill said the goal for the\u202fsymposium\u202fwas\u202fto translate what\u202fadministrators, faculty, and staff know using the survey trends into\u202fbrainstorming action\u202fsteps to\u202fimprove\u202fthe\u202fcampus\u202fenvironment.\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the new insights gained was students’ concerns\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0debt accumulation during their undergraduate years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Liza Boritz, the director of planning, assessment, and evaluation, presented\u00a0data\u00a0that shows that students who report higher levels of concern also report less favorable outcomes in other areas such as academic satisfaction, social satisfaction, and classroom engagement. \u201cThis finding, along with the other data shared in the workshop, underscores the importance of taking a holistic view of the student experience when trying to understand student success,\u201d Boritz said.<\/p>\n

\"A
The Undergraduate SERU survey will open on March 24. (Anna Heqimi\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nishelli Ahmed, program manager for the Mental Well-being and Health Equity Initiatives at Student Health and Wellness, kicked off the seminar with a 50\/50 mindfulness exercise. Participants were asked to focus on their breathing, briefly disconnecting from their external environment. The 50\/50 approach helps individuals consider their internal thoughts and feelings as they navigate different interactions in the external world. Ahmed emphasized the benefit of this body-mind awareness exercise, which \u201ckeeps the body in mind while interacting with our environment\u201d and is \u201ca great way to be connected with one\u2019s self-care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work of the symposium will continue throughout the semester. The Holistic Huskies, SHaW’s peer mental well-being educators, will offer mindfulness drop-in hours for students at UConn Storrs. There will be sessions that provide an opportunity for students to learn what mindfulness is, engage in a variety of mindfulness practices \u2013 such as the 50\/50 approach \u2013 and take time to decompress in a supportive, judgment-free environment.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMindfulness Your Way” drop-ins began on March 12 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in room 1131 at Homer Babbidge Library. During drop-in hours, students engage in guided practices such as breathing exercises, grounding techniques, and brief meditations. Trained Holistic Huskies facilitators provide education about mindfulness and support students in exploring strategies that are compatible with their individual needs, schedules, and comfort levels.<\/p>\n

On March 26, the theme will be \u201cGratitude,\u201d\u00a0where participants will\u00a0practice\u00a0focusing on\u00a0what they are\u00a0thankful for,\u00a0boosting\u00a0their\u00a0mood and perspective.\u00a0On April 2, the theme will be \u201cVisualization,\u201d the practice of imagining positive mental images or goals to cultivate relaxation.\u00a0On April 16, the theme will be \u201cBody Scan,\u201d the practice of mentally scanning\u00a0one\u2019s\u00a0body from head to toe to notice sensations and release physical tension.\u00a0On the final day, April 30, the theme will be \u201cLove and Kindness.\u201d Participants will practice\u00a0mentally sending well-wishes and compassion to\u00a0themselves\u00a0and others to\u00a0foster\u00a0emotional warmth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Zooming in on Undergraduate Student Well-being’ was an interactive session intended to ‘champion change through empathy’ through a deeper understanding of the voices behind survey data<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":242625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2231,2461,2712,2235,2225,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2706],"class_list":["post-242583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-well-being","category-staff","category-student-success","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-18 12:04:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242583"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242690,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242583\/revisions\/242690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/242625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242583"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=242583"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=242583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}