Ways to Flourish

Making decisions about life after college or applying to jobs during college is often something dreaded by college students, but William & Mary's Career Center is a resource for students to make the most out of their career journeys. Today, we sit down with Kelly O'Shaughnessy, Associate Director of Career Engagement, to talk about how occupational wellness fits in with our 8 Dimensi...

Esports is a $1.1 billion industry that is becoming ever more popular, and William & Mary's Esports program is flourishing, too. Because Esports players face some unique challenges from that of other sports and competitive groups, our program has members who are dedicated to helping players look after their mental health. Allen Ngo and Caleb Rivers join us today to talk about what the Esp...

Welcome back to Season 4 of the Ways to Flourish podcast! We are so excited to get started and dive back into wellness this semester. Today, we are talking about a skill that everyone needs, but many struggle with: time management. We talk to Claire Forbes (Assistant Director of Academic Enrichment Programs) and Ashley Kohl (Academic Coach), both from William & Mary's TutorZone. We discus...

Welcome to the season 3 finale of Ways to Flourish! For our final episode of the season, we sit down with Reggie Williams, writer, civil rights activist, Disney executive, and former NFL player. He talks to us about building resilience, giving gifts, tackling the unknown, and speaking truths, all through the lens of his incredible life experiences. As we continue finals season, find your resilienc...

As we head into finals season, it is natural to feel overwhelmed, but it's not something we want to experience. Today, we sit down with Dr. Kelly Crace, Associate VP for Health and Wellness,  to talk about "chronic too-muchness," why we tend to fall into negative mindsets, and how we can employ strategies to foster self-compassion. When we rethink trust and compassion, we can rethin...

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of diets and unhealthy eating patterns. Diet culture has become pervasive in our society in large part due to misinformation spread through social media. Wanting to try new diets and eating patterns is especially common during and after the holidays. This week, Stephanie May, William & Mary's Registered Dietitian, talks to us about the unh...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. According to the Cleveland Clinic , about 14 million Americans are newly infected with HPV each year. Nancy Moul, a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner at W&M, talks to us today about how HPV impacts college students, what some common misconceptions are about HPV, how one can get the HPV va...

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of self-harm and suicide. Today, we sit down with Dr. Jennifer Cross, Director of Research at the Center for Gifted Education and Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students. We discuss how to check in on friends, why suicide is so prevalent in the college age group, and how William & Mary's suicide prevention efforts differ f...

The term "spirituality" often gets misunderstood, with many thinking it is the same concept as religion. Even though it is one of the eight dimensions of wellness , spiritual wellness is often overlooked and neglected, particularly in higher education. Jenny Call, Wellness Professional and Health Coach, talks to us today about how spirituality has developed, how it benefits our well-bein...

The Bee McLeod Recreation Center offers many services and resources to help you keep up your physical (and, therefore, mental) health. These include FitWell classes and personal training. Today, Devin Pereira, Personal Training Supervisor, joins us to talk about what personal training at W&M looks like, how regular movement benefits our mental well-being, and what someone should do if they are...

Relationships in college are often filled with new experiences, and with new experiences can arise new problems. For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we have a discussion with Liz Cascone (Director of the Haven), Hannah Artiles-Stravers (Sexual Violence Prevention Specialist and Asst. Director of the Office of Health Promotion), Priya Singh (member of HOPE), and Erica Eubank (Haven employee). We...

All too often, we find ourselves getting caught up in our day-to-day lives and struggling to keep going by ourselves. Today, Eric Garrison, co-host of the Ways to Flourish podcast, gives a talk that everyone should hear: seeking sensible support shows strength. There are resources available to help you. Be open to reaching out to them, because everyone deserves to feel less alone.

Regular contact with nature is a huge part of improving mental well-being. Today, Dr. Dorothy Ibes, Senior Lecturer, sits down with us to explain what the Parks & Ecotherapy Research Lab does, what the Campus Nature Rx Symposium on October 22nd will be like, how nature benefits mental health, and how the W&M community can access nature resources around campus. Resources: parksresearchlab.c...

Content warning: episode contains discussion of self-harm/suicide. October is LGBT History Month, and October 10 is World Mental Health Day. For queer-identifying individuals, mental health resources are often severely limited. Vincent SheaBerry, Co-President of the Rainbow Coalition at W&M,  joins us today to talk about barriers for LGBTQ+ individuals in seeking mental health care, the experi...

Listening to one's body and self-awareness are two practices that often fall by the wayside when getting caught up in our day-to-day lives. Yoga therapy is a service offered at William & Mary, and today, we are joined once again by certified yoga therapists Patti DeBlass and Cindy Crace to hear about how yoga therapy is beneficial for not only the mind, but the entire body.

Chances are, you've already interacted with a Graduate Assistant (GA) somewhere on campus! GAs play an integral role in the functioning of William & Mary, as they often act as liaisons between the undergraduate body and faculty. Today, Mary Ndukwe joins us to discuss GAs as resources for others, as well as her own experiences as an Integrative Wellness GA.

Wellness Ambassadors (WAs) are student-staff whom you've probably interacted with around campus, whether it be a friendly face at the Wellness Center's front desk or behind the scenes coordinating wellness events. Kevin Aviles, Raven Pierce, and Kelsey McAlister join us today and go into more depth about what it is WAs do, what it's like, and how they lead our community!

Today, T Davis, Assistant Director of Health Promotion from the Wellness Center, sits down with us to discuss health coaching. Integrative health coaching is a service provided at W&M that helps people get their health on track and reach their goals. We talk about what health coaching is, what it isn't, why it's helpful, and how to seek it out.

Hello, and welcome back to the third season of the Ways to Flourish podcast! We are so excited to get started again and show you what W&M Health & Wellness has to offer this new year. Today, we talk about all the ways students and faculty can take care of their health at the Bee McLeod Recreation Center and McLeod Tyler Wellness Center. For any and all information about campus Health &...

The 2020-2021 school year has been one like no other.  Last fall, there was a vision to create a podcast around mental health & wellness and we hit the ground running with a two-person team.  We were able to grow our team to now have seven people and some new equipment to continue on with the Ways to Flourish podcast during this spring semester.  While there may have been some growing pains th...

Class of 2021 Class President Aria Austin sits down with us to take a look back not only at the 2020-2021 school year but also her four-years at W&M.  She shares some ways the campus continued to flourish over during this pandemic and some of the ways the campus community has attributed to her personal development.  She then leaves us with some ways she feels the Class of 2021 has left for the...

Today is a day of celebration and the collective community that has brought us to this point!  For the second semester, we have successfully been able to hold in-person classes all the way to the end of the semester.  While it is a time of excitement at the end of the semester, we do want to make sure that students continue to be smart in celebrations and remember to abide by the Healthy Together...

Finals Week is here!  As we push through the final weeks of the semester, it is important to keep up healthy study habits that will help our wellbeing .  Our team shares some ways to create some healthy study habits as you enter these challenging weeks here at the end of the semester.  

With the warmer months right around the corner, Associate Director of Facilities & Aquatics, Bob Gough talks with us about water safety.  He discusses why it's important to know about water safety shares some ways we can make sure everyone STAYS SAFE and has a fun time out on the water. Resources:   https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html  ...

Lindsay Heck and Eric Garrison share with us four key components to include in to our everyday lives to help us continue to flourish.  They had the opportunity to join in on the Prolog app that touches on these four key points:  sleep, hydration, appropriate servings of fruits and vegetables & movement. Resource:   https://moreofthe4.com/wm/