The pandemic has taken its toll on mental health across the globe, so it became even more important for our team to be sharing support resources and offering regular reminders for self-care through social media.
In need of a break, I used these projects as an opportunity to weave in my own self-care. I challenged myself to explore these content needs in a way that I was able to learn something new or dust off some analog skills that I hadn't been able to utilize in a while. I found great joy in getting inventive with photography, flat lay construction, and finding inventive ways to pull the art into the computer only to push it back out again to photograph it.
SELF-CARE & ENCOURAGEMENT
REMINDERS TO STAY ENGAGED
Our campus has over 1,000 Registered Student Organizations, many of which were offering virtual ways to connect over lockdown. In addition, the Online Engagement Center shared ways to continue study sessions, tutoring, research assistance, business advising, library research, and even continuing with your fitness goals. We worked hard to help connect the dots as we all struggled to find a new normal. Engaging virtually was new to everyone but staying engaged was still vital in maintaining a balanced outlook.
ENGAGEMENT EXAMPLES
These were created as little reminders encouraging Spartans to take care or take initiative. They offered examples like mapping it out with a mentor if they hit a roadblock or being a part of the solution by engaging with others. Reminders that amidst your desire to make sure everyone else was doing okay, you also remembered to show yourself some love. We wanted to encourage people to start the conversation, be authentically honest with each other when things were hard, or know when to reach out to a professional when things got too hard. These were simple graphics talking about not-so-simple things.
IT ASSISTANCE REMINDERS
Reporting to class or work in the virtual space was new to many of us. Our IT team recognized the challenges faced by Spartans and created training sessions and workshops to help them acclimate to this new space. These graphics were intended to help market those services.
