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Student wellness program takes next step with Keep Going Grant

Go Grants in Action: Grant, donation move program into dedicated space

A man and two women in black tee shirts pose smiling outside and in front of a placard — Money from the second round of Go Grants is helping a student wellness program focused on training peers to provide assistance.

A student wellness program launched last year using funds from the first round of Central Michigan University Go Grants is taking the next step in its evolution, thanks to money from the second round and a generous alumni donation.

The goal is to provide students with the tools to take care of themselves while building successful careers. The program aims to do that by training students to identify peers who need support and connecting them to valuable resources.

“We’re not just educating students to be career-ready,” said Melissa Hutchinson, director of CMU’s Counseling Center. “We’re educating them to be life ready.”

A man with parted black hair and glasses wearing a black T-shirt points to a table with a maroon table cloth for the benefit of a man in black shorts and a rust colored tee shirt and a woman with long hair wearing blue jeans and a wine colored top — Students involved in a peer-driven student wellness program attended CMU's wellness fair in late September.

The evolution was made possible by a Keep Going Grant, announced in May, and a $650,000 donation that created the Oros Well-th Scholars.

The program is built on the idea that students play a critical role in supporting other students, she said.

Money from both is rehabbing a dedicated space inside Foust Hall that students can use to find help and relax, she said. It also allowed them to hire Leah Rutkowski as its new director.

Scholars’ primary role is to help students take care of themselves, either by connecting them to resources to address specific causes of stress like finances or grades. It also starts with helping students avoid taking on too much.

“We want them to learn balance between their health, career, relationships and purpose in life,’” she said.

Nine students are currently Scholars: four returning students and five first-year scholars, Hutchinson said. The goal is to add five new scholars every year for a total of 20.

They will move through the university as a cohort, which Hutchinson said is a highly effective way for students to find success.

This year’s scholars are getting to work right away. It’s important to provide resources early so students don’t feel overwhelmed later in the semester because of early decisions, she said.

They also get to establish the program’s foundation.

“They get to help plant the tree that provides the shade for many years,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson helped launch COMPASS last year, a program that trained volunteering students to serve as peer advocates. The program was originally funded by a $25,000 Go Grant in the program’s inaugural round.

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