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By Elizabeth Thompson ’21
To kick off the fall semester, the Counseling Center and LaFarm co-hosted the second annual Thrive on the Quad. The event was launched last fall after the Class of 2018 selected the Counseling Center to be the senior class gift recipient. The event’s goal is to help students learn practical strategies to nurture personal growth and cultivate a positive college experience.
Counseling Center staff members who helped organize the Thrive event include (L-R) Jamie Kardelis, Melissa Garrison, Karissa Rizzolino, Elizabeth Alogna, Larissa Atkins, Laura Syvertson, and Devin Hussong.
The Counseling Center focused on eight different domains centered on promoting students’ emotional health and well-being: gratitude, mindfulness, self-compassion, growth mindset, connection, digital detox, sleep, and exercise.
Eight activity stations, one for each domain, included soothing stones (students could write down a word or image and glue it to a clear stone), a wheel that had different questions related to sleep and exercise, and an opportunity to exchange bookmarks written with personal messages of hope with peers.
Once students completed at least three of the stations, they were able to get a plant from LaFarm. LaFarm also added tags to the plants that featured messages from students about how they have thrived at Lafayette.
“I love plants, and I love that students want to have plants in their dorm rooms,” says Lisa Miskelly, assistant director of food and farm. “I think there is such a strong connection between taking care of a plant and taking care of oneself. This plant needs water, sunlight, nutrients, and a little bit of attention, and so I think the plants are really symbolic of how we take care of ourselves.”
“I love the plants and rocks at this event; it really has made such a positive impact on my day, says Sarah Candido ’22. “Getting a little plant at the end was so special. I had a great experience at this event last year, and I was really looking forward to it again this year.”
