Stress less with Maverick Diversity Institute Workshop

The Maverick Diversity Institute has started a series of workshops aiming to help students adjust to college life. The first talk was held Feb. and covered topics such as types of stress and test anxiety.

The hosts started the workshop by defining what stress is and what types of stress students can experience.

“Stress is your body’s emotional or physical reaction to challenge or demand. Some stress types can be good and some can be bad. Some stress might push you to complete your assignments on time while other types of stress might push you over the limit and deplete your health,” said Sherona Stewart, the speaker for the workshop. 

For student Kaylee Foley, defining what stress is was very helpful for her studying experience.

“I and my friend were not able to concentrate on the material. And so just being able to come to a workshop that has defined something like this is helpful. Because I have had this feeling before and I didn’t know it was just anxiety. And so it was very nice to learn more about it,” said Foley.

The series of workshops is focusing on student success and developing academic skills. Abdurrahman Guantai, Recruitment and Retention Coordinator of the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access,  said the workshop series was launched initially for students in their program, and was later expanded. 

“We already did some workshops for some of our students in programs within Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. And we saw that there was a need for those workshops, so we decided to advertise to more people and welcome more students to come in and attend,” said Guantai. 

“Sometimes we go based on what we see that students require. For example, they have issues with studying or they’re anxious about stuff and sometimes they can’t manage the responsibility of the school. So we break it down into smaller categories to discuss, so they can have a more fulfilling career and life, both academic and personal,” added Stewart.

Future topics for the workshops will mainly consist of skills that students will need while attending college and managing their daily routines.

“We’ll talk about studying in the future. We might talk about budgeting or professionalism. College students will need to have a good grasp on it to be successful,” said Guantai.

However, the list of workshop topics is broader.

“Of course, it’s a popular topic but we will cover time management in more specific detail. Also, the expectation of college experience is an important topic because most of them come for their first semester and they expect it to be like high school,” said Stewart.

Students can join the sessions and develop their skills anytime workshops are available. For more information, email abdurrahman.guantai.2@mnsu.com.

Write to Amalia Sharaf at amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu