The Mindset Mentors, a group composed of health and wellness studies students, have been working throughout the fall semester to alleviate stress for students during this unprecedented semester.

The Mindset Mentors program is an internship offered by the health and wellness studies department for students enrolled in the minor. The program was created by Jennifer Wegmann, lecturer in the health and wellness studies department. According to Wegmann, the department is always in search of new opportunities for students in the minor, and she believed this program would be useful and impactful given the circumstances of this fall semester.

“The Mindset Mentors was born out of a few ideas, such as seeing the need for some kind of peer outreach for our students as it relates to stress because the campus community and the health and wellness studies department recognized that this was going to be a pretty stressful semester for students with [the shift] online and the overarching umbrella of [COVID-19] hanging over all of us,” Wegmann said. “There was a sense of a need to provide something like [the program].”

The students in the program had varied reasons for joining, but all called back to their desire to help the campus community. Alyssa Wengrofsky, a senior majoring in political science, said she joined to help others manage their stress and view it in a different light.

“I became a Mindset Mentor because I wanted to help people view stress from a different perspective,” Wengrosky wrote. “I used to believe that all stress was bad, and I needed to avoid it. After taking stress management, I realized that there could be a way to see stress as enhancing. I really want to help people change their mindset, especially during these uncertain times. We all have the capability to be resilient, and I want to provide useful tips to inspire people to look at their stress through a different lens.”

Kaitlyn Ramdhany, a senior majoring in psychology, voiced similar sentiments.

“I joined the Mindset Mentors mostly because I wanted to help students through times of adversity, especially now with COVID-19 and classes being in an online format, it can be difficult to cope with everything,” Ramdhany wrote. “I realized how important developing a positive mindset about stress in college is and wanted to change everyone’s view on how stress and resilience should be perceived.”

Haley Faber, a junior majoring in psychology, said she joined the program in order to spread love and positivity in a difficult time.

“I joined the Mindset Mentors because I wanted to take this opportunity to spread love and positive messages throughout the community during these difficult times,” Faber wrote. “Like so many others, I have experienced stress throughout my life. It wasn’t until this past year that I learned helpful ways to combat stress and develop a new perspective on how to challenge it. My goal in this program is to welcome the community with open arms and allow them to feel like they can reach out for help or advice whenever they need it.”

The Mindset Mentors manage an Instagram account and do presentations in various classes. According to Wegmann and several of the mentors, one of the most important things they do is visit students in quarantine and isolation.

“One of the things I think the mentors were most proud of was interaction with students in those capacities,” Wegmann said. “Mentors did walk-bys. They went to the quarantine and isolation dorms and were able to interact and provide a social connection to students that were in those dorms by talking through windows they were able to create a safe distance, able to chat with students who were isolating or quarantining. They also made goody bags, and it turned out to be something really fun that they did several times throughout the semester.”

According to Wegmann, the mentors hand-wrote letters to the students in quarantine, an act that received positive feedback from students.

“The feedback that we got from students who received the letters was overwhelmingly positive,” Wegmann said. “They were thankful that the mentors had taken the time and that the mentors actually cared about them being in isolation or in quarantine.”

Faber said she believes the walk-bys are the most important thing the mentors do.

“The most important thing that the program does in my eyes is when we walk by the quarantine and isolation dorms to talk to the students,” Faber wrote. “Being alone for such a long time with such uncertainty can be extremely stressful. Talking to the students and seeing them smile is so heart-warming. I love participating in this because I know how important human interaction is and a little positivity can go a long way. It is important that the students understand that they are not alone during these times and that we will get through this together!”