Campus life is gradually beginning to return to a new normal after two years of pandemic learning. Students are back in classrooms, and co-curricular activities are in full swing. However, there is still much healing and readjustment to do since the psychological impact of the COVID19 pandemic will be with us for years to come.
To address this new normal, NetVUE’s Fall 2022 Webinar focused on “Vocational Discernment as a Wellness Tool.” Exploring meaning and purpose can be a creative and effective way to integrate well-being practices on campus. A recent study, for example, indicates that exploring meaning and purpose for one’s life may lead to higher levels of life satisfaction, positive coping skills, and greater psychological health. The webinar on October 26 featured Elizabeth Kubek (below left) and Debra Minsky-Kelly (below right) and addressed the topic of integrating vocation as a wellness strategy in our work with students.
Elizabeth Kubek serves as Director of Summer Term and Faculty Director of Student Academic Success in the Provost’s Office and as Professor in English at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Elizabeth shared the mission of her institution’s Vocation Advisory Council, which coordinates activities for vocation-based education for students, faculty, and staff. She also outlined the college’s general education programming, which includes required well-being courses that introduce at least one dimension of well-being (Emotional, Relational, Physical, Financial, Intellectual, Environmental, Vocational, Career, Spiritual) and Challenge Seminar courses that involve senior students in exploring a particular challenge or a pressing ethical question.
Debra Minsky-Kelly is Director of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Debra discussed how intellectual reflection exercises, such as vocational exploration, relate to brain center activation and higher order cognitive skills. She provided information on how stress affects our bodies. She discussed classroom techniques that integrate vocational exploration and wellness: mindfulness, role playing, small-group work, yoga, journaling, and more.
The final 30 minutes of the webinar were dedicated to questions from participants, including questions about specific approaches to integrating vocation and wellness techniques in the classroom and about institutional initiatives. Related NetVUE resources include episodes from Callings on Burnout and Belonging and Vocational Advice for Undergraduates and blog posts on Self Care and Vocation Through Students’ Eyes and Quiet Quitting.
The webinar was recorded and can be accessed here. Please note that when you go to this link, it will prompt you to share your name and email address, but this is not a login; it simply allows NetVUE to keep track of interest. You are unlikely to receive any follow-up emails unless you are at a NetVUE member institution. However, if you do, you’ll have the opportunity to unsubscribe.
Rachel F. Pickett is the webinar coordinator for NetVUE.