91制片厂

Paul Furtaw and Laura Sherbondy coordinated the inaugural Fresh Check Day event, set for April 19. Photo by Jordan Stein.

There鈥檚 a tongue-in-cheek message that the staff coordinators of 91制片厂鈥檚 inaugural Fresh Check Day event want to get across to students.

鈥淎尘产颈迟颈辞苍 can wait,鈥� said Laura Sherbondy, coordinator of fitness and wellness for the Recreation Department of Athletics, with a joking reference to Drexel鈥檚 full-throttle 鈥淎尘产颈迟颈辞苍 Can鈥檛 Wait鈥� enrollment messages.

鈥淎尘产颈迟颈辞苍 needs to be balanced with self-care,鈥� added Paul Furtaw, PsyD, associate director of the Counseling Center.

At Drexel, a driven culture and demanding class schedules make it doubly important for students to take care of themselves on an individual level, as well as take care of each other. That鈥檚 why Sherbondy and Furtaw teamed up to put on 鈥� a mental health promotion and suicide prevention event geared toward students, with interactive booths, peer-to-peer messaging, food, entertainment, prizes and more. Already a feature on dozens of college campuses across the country, the inaugural event at Drexel will be held from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 19 on Lancaster Walk behind the Recreation Center.

鈥淸Drexel students] perform and perform, but they don鈥檛 refuel. They don鈥檛 sharpen the saw,鈥� says Furtaw. 鈥淭he focus [of the event] is on information, but it鈥檚 a spoon full of medicine with the sweetness to take it down without choking or gagging. That鈥檚 the activity, the peer-to-peer [interaction] 鈥� it鈥檚 the energy of the event. Each booth has a message that it鈥檚 trying to get across.鈥�

The event came about when Sherbondy started researching last summer about what other universities were doing to promote wellness on campus. The grabbed her, and when she came to learn that Furtaw had reached out to the organization in the past but wasn鈥檛 able to get planning for the event off the ground, they decided to move forward together in earnest to make it happen.

鈥淲e definitely, as a university, need to do more awareness [and] preventative stuff,鈥� Sherbondy said, adding that more and more students are coming into college with mental health diagnoses. Plus, she said, Drexel students are adjusting to a high-intensity academic environment, as well as living away from home and in a major city.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where it was a matter of me exploring and figuring things out and just wanting and knowing that wellness needs to be more of a focus here,鈥� she added.

Fresh Check Day is the signature program of the , which was founded in 2011 by Ernie and Marisa Porco after losing their son to suicide when he was a freshman in college.

Alex Katz, outreach coordinator for the Foundation, said that Fresh Check Day aims to be a different approach to suicide prevention by doing it in a way that is uplifting, hopeful and positive for students, as well as relatable.

鈥淭he biggest thing that we aim to do is decrease stigma,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd allow students to feel more comfortable asking for help whether it鈥檚 for themselves or others.鈥�

The foundation provides many of the materials needed for a college or university to put on Fresh Check Day, including a manual, a variety of different booth possibilities and suggested activities, talking points for student volunteers and marketing materials. Katz said they make it easy in order to reach as many students as possible.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 really important, keeping the messaging consistent when you鈥檙e talking about mental health and suicide,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e take the guess work out for [organizers] to make it a lot more comfortable.鈥�

At Drexel鈥檚 Fresh Check Day, there will be seven interactive booths hosted by a variety of campus entities, including Active Minds, Undergraduate Peer Mentors, the Office of Equality and Diversity and the Counseling Center. Students will be incentivized to visit the booths and complete the activities in order to receive food and prizes.

Rachel Bomysoad, a senior psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a former treasurer of student organization Active Minds, said her organization will man a booth called 鈥�100 Reasons鈥� where participants will be invited to help create a 鈥渃aring tree.鈥� Whether a moment of reflection or artistic expression, students will write down and contribute the reasons that they keep on living to the tree, which Bomysoad hopes will instill a sense of hope for students who see it.

鈥淚 think that it will be a really powerful image for people,鈥� she said.

Because the topic of mental health as a whole, especially including suicide prevention, can be intimidating and intense for students to discuss, Bomysoad said the fact that this event is primarily peer-to-peer is super helpful.

鈥淚t鈥檚 helpful to approach this event from the standpoint that everyone has mental health and their mental health to consider,鈥� she said.

Sherbondy and Furtaw hope Fresh Check Day is an event students come to look forward to year after year. It鈥檚 also apt that the event is hosted through the Rec Center, which Furtaw called a 鈥渄efacto student center.鈥�

鈥淭his has always been a place where people make Drexel more manageable in size, less anonymous and less stressful,鈥� he said. 鈥淸Sherbondy and her staff are] engaging with students and literally, physically bringing them together and looking after students who have been slower to connect socially. You can鈥檛 do Drexel if you don鈥檛 have somebody having your back.鈥�

Furtaw said that the University has showcased how it also has students鈥� backs by their support of Fresh Check Day. The office of Student Life, specifically Vice President and Dean of Student Life Subir Sahu, PhD, secured what was needed to fully fund the event after Recreational Athletics had already footed more than half of the costs.

Katz said that Fresh Check Day aims to showcase that mental health is a campus-wide responsibility.

鈥淚 think that sometimes it can kind of fall on counseling centers, which can be understaffed and students may not want to go there for help. They would rather go to a friend, or a teacher, or a coach,鈥� she said. 鈥淏y getting the entire campus involved, you show students that their mental health is a priority across campus.鈥�

The future success of Fresh Check Day, and the effectiveness of its aim to promote mental health and prevent suicide, will lie with students following their participation in the event, Sherbondy and Furtaw concurred.

鈥淚t depends on students carrying that message further,鈥� Furtaw said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 the whole recipe here, getting students to not just buy into the message but spread the message to their peers.鈥�