Hey everyone!

I’ve been at my internship at theWELL for almost two months and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. For a good part of that time, theWELL staff and I were swamped with New Student Orientation. One of our Health Educators, Carolyn Bacchus, and I were tasked with giving presentations to introduce new students to Campus Health and many of the resources our offices provide students, an assignment I truly enjoyed. At first I wondered if I was going to be seen by the incoming students as the boring old senior who lectured them for 40 minutes about where to go to get flu shots. Though, as our office developed the presentation and asked me for my input I realized that our presentation presented an important opportunity. Not only was it a chance to present health topics to incoming freshmen in a fun and engaging way, it was also a chance to help the incoming class start to build a relationship with Campus Health and to encourage self-care and healthy behaviors. The information provided and the attitude given off during those presentations would be those students’ first impression of Campus Health, and could help

them get off positive start at college. I especially saw the value in this as someone who struggled to hit my stride my first year of college, balancing classes, new friends, and a serious coffee addiction. As an older student, my role in this presentation was to talk about the realities of college life and help new students identify the small things they can do to keep mentally, emotionally, and physically well.

In addition to a general introduction to Campus Health, Carolyn and I also touched upon the topic of OneWave, our bystander intervention program, during our orientation presentations for new students. It was a really exciting feeling to introduce such an important program to our incoming freshmen. In many ways it feels like I’m handing off the torch. When I came to Tulane, OneWave was in its very first stages, and now we have the pleasure of bringing freshmen into a community where OneWave and bystander intervention are common and recognized terms. I’m really proud of the fact that I have been involved with theWELL and gotten to work alongside so many of our staff members as they collaborated with the rest of the Tulane community to help implement a program that I believe can truly change our campus culture for the better. Being able to hand down this thoroughly developed and implemented program to our new freshmen is extremely rewarding.

The more time I spend here at theWELL, the more grateful I become for the wonderful opportunity both this office and the Newcomb College Institute have provided for me. Many of my personal goals for the summer revolved around developing my professional skills. I can feel myself growing towards this goal in many ways, even in ways as simple as my phone etiquette. The New Student Orientation presentations helped me develop my public speaking skills and build my confidence as an expert on campus health. I’ve also been able to work on my leadership skills as I prepare strategic plans for the upcoming school year and my new position as TUPHE Coordinator. I’m very thankful for this opportunity and all of the insight it has given me into the world of public health. I know that in addition to helping me learn to think from a public health framework, this internship has helped me form the professional skills and given me the confidence to implement and develop my own ideas.

Best,

Simone