If you’ve ever met senior Casey Sollazzo, you’ll know that just being in her presence has a calming effect. That being said, it’s no wonder that Casey is a student meditation leader at TCNJ. Casey, originally from Weston, Connecticut, is a Psychology major with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. In addition to being a student meditation leader, she is also member of Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority.
Casey first became aware of the guided meditations offered at TCNJ her junior year. “I was walking around the activity fair my junior year and it caught my eye that there was a group called Circle of Compassion that I’d never heard of and I wanted to learn more about them,” she explained. “There’s free dinners that anyone can attend every Monday so I started going to the dinners. When you go in, you talk about compassion, mindfulness and self-awareness. It’s a really cool community to be a part of.”
Fast forward to now, and Casey is a member the Circle of Compassion’s Eboard and is a certified student meditation leader. Mindfulness isn’t just important when Casey is leading weekly meditations, but every day.
Casey said that to her, “mindfulness is all about being non-judgmental but understanding and checking in with yourself at any given moment. It’s something you can bring with you anywhere. It’s helped me in so many ways, I’ve always been a pretty compassionate person towards others but mindfulness has helped me be more compassionate towards myself.”
Casey has been guiding and inspiring others to go on their own journey of becoming their best self through mindfulness and compassion. “It’s something that doesn’t come easy, it’s just like exercising. You don’t become mindful overnight, but it’s a journey that you’re on that changes the way you think of things. It’s really helped me put a lot into perspective.”
After attending one of Casey’s sessions, it became clear that she has a strong passion and talent for helping others. Casey’s advice for her fellow college students is, “you deserve 10 minutes, or whatever you can devote that day, to giving it to yourself and then you can bring that forward and help the rest of the world by being more mindful.”
If you are interested in attending a drop in guided meditation at the Spiritual Center, there are events everyday!
Monday: 6:30 p.m., free dinner served at 7
Tuesday: 8:45 a.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m.
Thursday/Friday: 5 p.m.