November 11, 2020 – In a pandemic-affected semester when classes are
all online and nothing feels normal, members of the Hendrix community still
have found ways to connect with each other. One of those avenues: the Well-Being Coalition Book Club, which
has provided a weekly gathering for a group of 17 students, faculty, and staff to
read, discuss, and learn together.
The group gathers on Wednesday nights to work its way through the book U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life)
by Daniel Lerner and Alan Schlecter, M.D.
The reading and weekly discussion hours will yield the students credit
for an Odyssey Program Special Project at the end of the semester. But the
benefits go beyond satisfying a requirement for graduation – and participants
are realizing the value right now.
Jim Wiltgen, dean of students, and Dr. Lindsay Kennedy, a psychology
professor and director of the Hendrix Well-Being Initiative, started the
semester as the group’s facilitators. Dr. Mary Anne Seibert ’94, the College’s
director of Counseling Services, joined in later, when Kennedy went on family
leave to welcome a new child.
“While Zoom fatigue is a challenge for all of us, this group is
something I look forward to each week,” Wiltgen said.
Christine Donakey ’21, a psychology major, saw the book club invitation
in the Hendrix Today campus-wide announcement email. Donakey, who took a
course on emotions from Kennedy last semester, looks up to both Kennedy and Wiltgen,
so the opportunity to be part of a discussion group with them sparked her
interest.
“The book itself is wonderful, and has had a great impact on my
well-being, especially with being off campus,” she said. “Having something to
do each week to focus on my mental health, and also getting to have a community
where we’re able to just sit down and talk has been really nice, because
usually you get that a lot on campus.”
Donakey said the group discussions have “definitely gotten into a flow”
that has fostered relationship building among the members. Student participants
have come from all four class years, and the Hendrix senior believes that
diversity has helped her find significant connection with people she might not
have otherwise gotten to know.
Options the book offers for action “pushed it from just reading the
book and coming to the book club to doing the things that you’re learning about,”
she said. “You really got the opportunity to discuss how it impacted your life
that week.”
Victoria Ortega ’23, a biochemistry major, is earning her first Odyssey
Program credit through the book club and has valued the experience as a change
of pace in a semester where her studies focus primarily on the sciences. “I
think the biggest thing is that I’ve gotten to interact with different people
in the Hendrix community,” she said. “Even if it’s through a computer, it’s
still nice to connect. I’m excited to get back to campus and see these people
that I’ve met virtually.”
One chapter of U Thrive had participants take an assessment of
what motivates them. “I had never taken a quiz like that before, so it was
really helpful to know what I should focus on as motivation,” Ortega said. She
also appreciated how chapters on nutrition and sleep, two necessities that can fall
by the wayside during times of stress, reinforced that prioritizing healthy habits
can translate to more success in work, school, and life. “Being able to read a
chapter that reminds us of things that will help us succeed will help me take
care of myself more,” Ortega said.
Ian Campbell ’23 appreciates Wiltgen, Kennedy, and Seibert for their investment
in the Well-Being Book Club. “They seem less like faculty during those
meetings. They’re not only there to just listen to the students, but they
participate and offer their own viewpoints,” he said. “They’re really part of
the group.”
Ortega also has found it helpful to interact with the participating faculty
and staff members, all of whom demonstrate their care for students. “They
acknowledge the difficulty of being online and in a pandemic and with
everything that’s going on in the world,” she said. “I really appreciate that.”
For the Spring 2021 semester, when most students plan to return to
campus for in-person instruction, some members of this group will be part of
the Well-Being Living-Learning Community housed in the Market Square South
building of the Village at Hendrix. Campbell, a computer science and biochemistry
double-major, is among them. He was set to join the living-learning community this
semester before the pandemic changed plans for in-person instruction, so he values
the book club as a way to connect despite not having the living-learning
setting available.
“When I saw there was an opportunity to build community even though we
weren’t on campus, that caught my interest,” Campbell said, noting that the
book’s chapters are organized around different aspects of a college student’s
life. “Some of my favorite chapters have been the one on positive emotions and
the one on mental health. We have been able to come together every week and
talk about how we are situated in these different parts of life. I like the
community of it all, and I think it’s been helpful for a lot of people in the
group to realize that they aren’t alone in a time like this.”
Seibert, the director of Counseling Services, considered it an honor
that Wiltgen asked her to co-lead the discussions with him while Kennedy is on
leave. Like Wiltgen, she sees the book club as a highlight of her week.
“I have really enjoyed working with the Dean, and I have absolutely
loved getting to know the students, who are actively engaged in each
discussion. They have such lovely and encouraging words of wisdom to share with
the group and are so supportive of one another,” she said. “Their honesty,
insight, and awareness are impressive. I admire their openness and willingness
to tackle some challenging topics, such as stress, relationships, willpower,
mental health, and more.”
Seibert acknowledged that while college can certainly be “the best years
of your life,” it also can be difficult personally, academically, and socially.
“U Thrive normalizes some of these struggles and strives to help
students manage them in constructive ways in order to lead rich, meaningful
lives.”
Donakey, who plans to work in behavioral health with children and
families after graduate school, said she would recommend U Thrive to
fellow students, especially those in their first years of college — but also said
the benefit isn’t limited to people in that stage of life: “The Dean has said
he has really found a lot of things in the book helpful, too. It’s research
that applies to everybody.”
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix
College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal
arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools
That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.