The week of Oct. 7 to 11 marked this year’s Week of Wellness, run by the Student Wellness team and spurred on by their firm belief that health and wellness directly affect students’ experience at university. This year’s theme was “Dimensions of Wellness,” and the week was filled with activities including panels, boot camps, accessibility scavenger hunts, waffles, puppy therapy, and a Glow Zumba dance party.
Motivation Monday started strong at 11:30 a.m. at the Abbotsford campus, with Chilliwack campus hosting a Budgeting 101 workshop, the first of the “Fall Financial Literacy Workshops.” Later that day, the Abbotsford campus offered an “Emotional Fitness Bootcamp” with keynote speaker Khyati Shetty, which focused on aiding students in creating a well-being toolkit and developing strategies for stress management. The same day, in partnership with the Academic Success Centre, they presented the “Plan, Don’t Cram” workshop, which provided tips to help students prepare for their exams.
On Transformation Tuesday, while Chilliwack campus relaxed and enjoyed a “Garden Tea & Work Party,” Abbotsford campus gained vital knowledge with the “‘Crash Course’ on Boundaries, Communication & Healthy Relationships.” This seminar was offered by SARA for Women, a feminist non-profit community organization that provides support and resources to women while bringing awareness to domestic violence. Danica Elliot, Stopping the Violence (STV) counsellor and facilitator of the seminar, shared with The Cascade that she reached out to Shyanne Boudreau, student wellness coordinator, to offer the workshop. The inspiration for this seminar came to Elliot when she noticed a pattern in her clients in how they grew up with no knowledge of establishing boundaries. “We can’t set boundaries if we don’t know what value we’re doing. And if you don’t value yourself, then you’re never gonna set a boundary for yourself.” To Elliot, taking the route of early intervention seemed like the best course of action to “stop the cycle in the beginning, versus waiting until they come to us decades later.”
Wellness Wednesday had Abbotsford packed with activities, including the “Managing our Emotions in and out of the Classroom” and the “In this together: Consent 101” workshops. There was also a student panel with counsellor Eileen Burkholder on “The Good, the Bad, and the Lonely” and a 60-minute session of “Trauma-Sensitive Yoga.” In Chilliwack, free waffles were offered on their Student Chill Zone Schedule from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. alongside their adorable “Woof-Woof Wednesday” (puppy therapy).
Thrive Thursday featured a heartfelt conversation with Elder-in-Residence Denise Douglas, who spoke on “Words of Wellness,” sharing some of her experiences and wisdom while raising awareness regarding Indigenous womens’ wellness: “Indigenous people suffer the unresolved grievances of colonial settlement, although, in our way, we continue to accommodate it. Although we’re smiling on the outside, and we’re walking strong, we’re not well.” She added that “Since contact, the wellness of women has steadily degenerated as they folded into the fabric of the settling society.”
Douglas shared a calming activity that inspired wellness and reminded students that “wellness isn’t about quantity. Wellness is about quality.” She ended her session with a love song about people and the environment that her mother taught her when she was little. The Cascade asked Douglas what she wished everyone knew about wellness, to which she answered, “To take in and to know what’s good in your life, identify those things. Count your blessings. That’s how my elders told me. Count your blessings.”
On Thursday at 3:00 p.m., Student Wellness provided supplies to make (and take) Glow-in-the-Dark bracelets in preparation for the 6:00 p.m. Glow Zumba Party! This event offered “Glow in the Dark painting,” a 50-minute Zumba class, door prizes, and a wrap-up speech.
Lastly, Frisky Friday tackled a “PRIDE Collective Conversation Corner & pleasure product sale” and another SARA workshop on boundaries, where Elliot once again reminded students that “boundary setting is about loving yourself at the risk of disappointing others.” Regarding the low number of participants, Elliot said that “four people now have this information, and hopefully, those four people will talk about it. Enforce it. It spreads.”
This concluded Wellness Week, which would not have been possible without UFV’s Student Wellness Education and Promotion team: Katina Noble, Dueen Meer, and Shyanne Boudreau, student wellness coordinator. Regarding the week, Shyanne shared on their blog that “wellness is within everyone and it’s an individualized journey that we’re here to support,” as she continues to work toward making students feel like they belong.
