According to Ms. Victory and Ms. Leviness, nurses at the health center, there are “more than two or three students coming to health center for help.” The most frequent problems for the students are stress about grades or social problems. Other problems could be roommate situations, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Dr. Greene says, “Every year there has been one or two students thinking about suicide.” With these facts in mind, Dr. Greene created the Wellness class to replace Theology 1.

The course focuses on any mental or physical health issues students may face and healthy ways to deal with them. The class is not meant to stress students with even more work. Dr. Greene explains, “This is the first class you don’t need to be worry about scores.” And the class being pass-or-fail reflects that.

The class is also meant to be student driven. According to Dr. Greene, this is not a class about “telling what you should do and should not do, but asking what is right for you, and when is right for you.” It is taught by Dr. Greene and new teacher Ms. Merriam, who collaborated with Head Nurse Victory and Dr. Struckus to get the most up-to-date information on a series of different topics. These three teachers cover a variety of topics including self-awareness, substance use, advertisements, sexuality, and gender.

In the class, students are “free to have a completely open conversation about anything.” Dr. Greene ensures that the class is a safe space and all conversations are completely confidential. Ms. Victory believes this helps students feel secure enough to seek support from any nurse, advisor, or teacher for help.

From the student perspective, Yimo Chong ’20 calls the class “very meaningful and educational. Chong says, “the class has a very casual atmosphere” and it is “more about sharing opinions with others with respect.”