On Sept. 4, Oswego State hosted their fourth annual Mental Health and Wellness Fair. Sponsored and organized by the Health and Wellbeing Committee, Oswego State hopes to spread awareness about the different aspects of wellness. 

Similar to last year, students and staff who participated were encouraged to get their “wellness wheel” stamped by stopping by the different tables around the fair to complete the eight aspects of the wellness wheel. It is inspired by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)’s eight-dimension wellness wheel.

“Each vending table has a category, that could be occupational, financial, physical wellness, intellectual wellness, mental wellness, spiritual wellness or emotional wellness. Basically what you do is you go to each table and you’re supposed to learn something about what they do, pertaining to that wellness,” Oswego State Counseling Services intern Roderick Bell said. 

Students who were able to complete this task were entered to win various prizes, including a Fitbit. 

Planning this year’s Mental Health and Wellness Fair required exhibitor recruitment, marketing and various donations. In years past, the event had been organized by Counseling Services, the Fitness Centers, and the Employee Assistant Program (EAP). This was the first year the Health and Wellbeing Committee organized the event.

One of the tables at the Mental Health and Wellness Fair was hosted by the Dean of Students office, where they partnered with the Suicide Prevention Coalition. At their table, students were encouraged to decorate 100 posters with inspiration quotes, sayings and drawings. The posters will be hung up around the city of Oswego, as a precursor to the upcoming ninth annual Suicide Prevention Walk, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21.

“Students have been really eager to write quotes on the poster boards or even just jot down an inspirational message if they’re quickly walking through,” Trisha DeWolf, Alcohol and Other Education Coordinator from the Dean of Students office said. “We’re just looking for something positive and uplifting.”

Other offices that hosted tables and activities included the Sustainability Office, the Community Service Office, the Non-Traditional Student Organization, Oswego Opportunities, the Oswego County Humane Society, Helio Health and more.

Due to inclement weather, this year’s Mental Health and Wellness Fair was held in Swetman Gym, as opposed to the outdoor area between Marano Campus Center and Penfield Library.

“Due to many department moves and staffing changes across campus, it was more challenging for those of us involved to attend to all of the tasks of growing the event,” said Katherine Wolfe-Lyga from the Counseling Services Center. “However, there was amazing effort in bringing it all together. Additionally, this is the first year that the entire event had to be hosted indoors. We are ultimately pleased with the outcome, but certainly value being outdoors when the weather has permitted.”

Some students who attended the Mental Health and Wellness Fair in previous years noted a difference in both the number of attendants and the number of activities for students to participate in and interact with.

“I thought the fair was good this semester, but I thought last year had more people and activities,” Oswego State senior Lindsey Zeller said. “I wish the counseling center had a table and gave students coping skills like in a pamphlet or something. I do think the fair is very important, but I wish they had more resources for students on campus to share.” 

The goal of the Mental Health and Wellness Fair, according to Bell, is to educate Oswego State students, faculty and staff. The tables at the fair were not aimed towards solely students; there were activities and information for faculty and staff as well as the greater Oswego city community. 

“We believe that we can all be at our best when we are engaged in self-care and ensuring our needs met. We hope that this fun and resource-infused event helps promote a culture of well-being across the campus,” Wolfe-Lyga said.

Wolfe-Lyga also noted another objective of the fair was to normalize placing a value on making mental health and well-being a priority, which was a common idea among other attendees and staff at the event.

“Mental health and awareness is really important in society today and I think it’s good for people to learn different ways to cope with mental health issues and come in here. Learning all types of different ways can really be beneficial to everyone, and allowing different agencies to come up here and express what they do, how they help the community, is really helpful overall, not just for Oswego State itself, but for Oswego county,” Bell said. 

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian