College-bound students get help balancing school, mental health
Rising senior Anaya Martinez, a student at Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet School, tells the class her definition of mental wellness during the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) annual summer camp at the Episcopal School of Dallas on Monday. (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Brewer Foundation shifts focus of Future Leaders Program after seeing students battling stress.
Dallas Morning News By Sofia Barnett. Please click here for full article. Highlights below:
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“FLP’s new curriculum, called “Rise & Thrive: Building Mental Strength for College Success and Beyond,” is taught by Mayra Salinas-Godsey, an FLP alumni and first-generation college student who graduated from the program in 2010. Planning for Salinas-Godsey’s course began after 36 FLP students went on a trip to New York City in early May.
Students on the trip got to explore the Northeast and familiarize themselves with new urban landscapes, spending their time visiting colleges such as Yale University and Fordham University, as well as sightseeing and supporting peers debating at the Brewer Foundation’s and New York University’s annual International Public Policy Forum. Though the trip offered students new experiences and insights, several told FLP leadership that they felt anxious being far from their homes and realized they needed additional support.
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According to Salinas-Godsey’s class, potential tools include emotional intelligence, active listening, self-awareness, decision-making and intentional mental wellness.
“Combining that, we’re going to practice all this to help our personal growth and professional development,” she said. “These skills … are all interconnected, right? It’s going to support you as a person. It’s going to help you grow as a leader, as a student and beyond.”
Salinas-Godsey said that although college can be challenging for first-generation, low-income students, the FLP support system will continue to be a resource, even as students become alumni.”