A few of UBC’s Wellness Peers team members.
University tends to be a balancing act of work, fun, and learning, one that can undoubtedly be stressful. Large campuses like UBC sometimes have a bad reputation of being impersonal and not caring for students as individuals. However, at UBC this is not the case. The Wellness Centre provides a personalized and proactive approach to tackling student health and wellness.
Meet Veronica Marchuk, this year’s Wellness Centre coordinator. I sat down with her to learn a bit more about her work at the Wellness Centre, and what it’s all about. Veronica coordinates the operations of the Wellness Centre, as well as different health initiatives. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Public Health here at UBC, so her involvement in the Wellness Centre is fitting with the field of work she is going into. Not only is Veronica an asset to the student population as a whole, but she truly likes what she does. She explains that she has been involved in student health promotion since her undergrad, and that she enjoys it “because students are a really unique population…(since) a lot of the healthy habits that are able to be developed [are formed] right in this time frame,” during university.
A number of student staff and volunteer Wellness Peers help Veronica with the daily operation of the Wellness Centre, and with offering help and advice to students. These student staff members and Wellness Peers are specially trained to provide peer-to-peer support, and are knowledgeable about resources and services available on and off campus.
Because the Wellness Centre utilizes “a peer-to-peer approach (to dealing with health and wellness), it’s really about working through some of the (students’) questions By no means are we experts, but … we do know (about) resources that are available on campus. We have the space and the time that we can really go into some of the questions that students might have, and it’s really meant to be a proactive step.” If a student is in distress and can no longer benefit from proactive solutions, the Wellness Centre has the resources to put them in touch with whoever they might need, like a counsellor, or doctor.
Veronica explains that the Wellness Centre acts as a place where “we can tailor which resources we talk about in a very intentional way, (which) can be really empowering for students. And that’s really exciting to see. They don’t need all the information at once; it’s what do they need right now that can support them through this process… that’s been very uplifting and really one of the most engaging parts,” she says. “You never know what’s coming through that door.” Even though UBC is so big, students can still find the individualized help they need here.
“One of the top reasons why students come to the Wellness Centre is to learn about or buy safer sex products,” which are offered at cost, says Veronica. She explains that offering free condoms and selling safer sex products is “really meant to be a chance for students to engage in conversations about safer sex practices and [to] promote sex positivity.” Students will not only save money when purchasing sex products from the Wellness Centre, but will also receive important information about these products, including proper use and cleaning methods, that they may not otherwise receive elsewhere. For a complete list of products sold at the Wellness Centre, click here.
Veronica’s final comments really drove home why student involvelment and enthusiasm is what makes the Wellness Centre work: “What I particularly love about UBC is that support is here, and that we do care about how students are and how they’re doing with their process… [the support is] there, and we’re so happy to be able to provide that for students.”
The Wellness Centre is open from 10-4 on Tuesdays, and 10-5 on all other weekdays. Though it caters to students, all are welcome here. The Wellness Centre is a walk in service, so go visit whenever you want!