On Wednesday, September 22nd, the Alcorn Department of Residence Life presented “Wellness Wednesday”. This event was held in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Ballroom from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
“Wellness Wednesday” was held to give students the opportunity to have an open discussion about mental health. The event included a presentation from Dr. Barbara Martin, Director of Counseling Services at Alcorn State University (ASU) and a student-filled panel who were there to answer questions regarding mental health.
“We created this event to give something back to the Alcorn area. We wanted to come out of the gate running talking about mental health because that is the basis of who we are as people,” said Resident Assistant (RA) Xavian Lewis.
Lewis began the event by introducing Dr. Martin who presented a PowerPoint to the audience entitled “Managing Stress”. In the PowerPoint, Dr. Martin enlightened the audience on what stress is and some of the signs and symptoms of it. She then gave out some tips on how to manage stress. One tip included a healthy sleep pattern which she wanted to be “one of the main things that was remembered from the presentation.”
After the presentation from Dr. Martin, Lewis turned the program over to the student panel. This panel included, Kiesha Lewis, Trey Hale, Briana Mabry, and Stevion Alexander.
The panel talked about some mental illnesses that are prevalent in the college community such as depression and anxiety. They also touched on how mental health can have an affect on one’s physical health and relationships. The panel let the audience know that they were not alone and that it is perfectly fine to ask for help.
“My experience on the panel was a very pleasant one. I enjoyed helping people and telling my story because you never know how many people are going through the same thing as you are,” said panelist Briana Mabry.
At the conclusion of the event, Dr. Martin gave the audience information on how to get in contact with counseling services on the ASU campus. The Counseling Services department is located in the Walter Washington Building in Room 305. The phone number is (601) 877-6230 and the email is counselingservices@alcorn.edu. The times are Monday – Thursday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.