The Student Wellness Center hosted a Mental Health Happy Hour event last week at Sam Houston State University’s Newton Gresham Library, giving students the opportunity to fill their social and artistic cups by making new friends while creating a vision board for 2025. 

Paula Bradfield, the Peer Health Ambassador Advisor, mentioned that she launched the program in the fall. Due to its success, she is excited about the five Mental Health Happy Hour events this semester, each featuring a different craft activity. 

Michelle Ramirez, a junior in Health Science, attended her first event of the semester. Amid a busy schedule of assignments, she realized the importance of taking a mental health break to recharge and maintain her focus and productivity. 

“I want to make sure this year for all my classes I get good grades, make all A’s, be successful, keep doing what I’m doing, and keep working hard,” Ramirez said.  

Students from various majors gathered in the Newton Gresham Library, interacting with one another while creating their vision boards using magazine cutouts, stickers and drawings during the event. 

Health Science student Gabrielle Styskal, who is minoring in music, highlights music as her focus for her vision board. She aims to start posting covers on YouTube, with hopes of getting picked up by a record label.  

“It’s easy to stress about the future, so having an opportunity to visually see what your future could look like and plan it out can kind of take the stress off,” Styskal said.  

According to the Student Wellness Office page, taking a break from studying and spending a little time crafting can help you relax and feel less stressed, giving you the energy to tackle your class assignments.    

“Expect a very calm environment to get away from all the stresses of life and meet some very nice people,” said Styskal, encouraging students to attend their first Mental Health event.