To promote the services they offer, paid for by student tuition fees, the Counseling Center will host its final workshop on Nov. 18 in the Sundance Court third floor meeting room.
“I think the question is, why shouldn’t people take advantage of the Counseling Center?” Reagan Foster, counselor at the campus Counseling Center, said. “We cover a whole range of different things.”
With about 15 percent of student tuition fees going toward the Counseling Center, it is to the students’ advantage to capitalize on the countless services and workshops it offers. Of the $2.24 million budget, 336 thousand goes to the Counseling Center. The only other on-campus services receiving more funding are Clark Student Center and Vinson Health Center.
The Counseling Center is comprised of 4 counselors who care for the needs of the entire student body. Although they are available all semester, any student who needs counseling should make an appointment as soon as possible to guarantee they will be seen.
“We talk to different student organizations and we do a lot of classroom presentations,” Foster said.
With finals coming up in a month, the Counseling Center staff knows that emotions and anxiety among students will soon elevate. The services provided help students deal with their issues and learn how to cope with any problems that may arise later in their college career.
“Along with financial aid, we do a survey of freshman and transfer students called MAP-Works,” Foster said. “Test anxiety is always at the top of the list, along with not being sure about choosing a major, study skills, time management, things like that. Based on students’ information, and what they’re giving us, we feel like it’s important to continually hit on those issues.”
Meghan Myracle, sophomore in education, attended the test anxiety workshop on Nov. 11 because she had often felt anxiety before and after tests.
“When I take exams, I tend to panic or leave feeling like I failed, even though I usually get my test grade back to see I made a high A,” Myracle said. “I can identify with test anxiety and thought it would be good to go [to the workshop] with finals coming up.”
Myracle was impressed with the speaker, counselor Reagan Foster, and learned a few helpful tips to help her deal with anxiety around test time.
“[She] said something about how the negative thoughts that you think when you come upon a question you don’t know and start to freak out can take up space in your brain and prevent you from doing your best during exams,” Myracle said. “That was helpful and I’m hoping that getting rid of negative thoughts during exams will help me feel better about them when I take them.”
There are things students can do to reduce their stress level in their daily lives. Foster said that living a balanced lifestyle is key for students to minimize the effect of anxiety.
“It’s all about balance,” Foster said. “Work toward wellness on a social level, an emotional level, an intellectual level and a physical level. And I would even argue on a spiritual level. Sometimes students don’t want to plan out their time. But in order to get everything done – from working out to studying to having fun with friends – you really have to prioritize your time.”
The final workshop of the semester will be “Choosing a Career and Major” on Nov. 18. The next events offered by the Counseling Center will begin in February.
