Skip to main content

Cura in Mind: New Wellness Coordinator Works to Create Healthy Community at SLU

03/27/2020

Tori Harwood, Saint Louis University’s new wellness coordinator, is more than familiar with the many aspects of keeping the body, mind and spirit fit.

Tori Harwood in the Simon Recreation Center overlooking SLU's pool with exercise equipment behind her.

New to SLU in 2019, Tori Harwood is bringing her expertise in wellness to the University to help Billikens support their health, particularly mental health, holistically. SLU file photo by Amelia Flood

Hired in 2019 for the newly-created role with the Department of Campus Recreation and Wellness, Harwood is working to create a community that fosters wellness grounded in the spirit of cura personalis, including mental health. Expanding SLU’s mental health and wellness programming, including its crisis and suicide prevention initiatives and partnerships, are key aspects of Harwood’s work.

The SLU community, like campuses across the nation, is working to support and care for students who may be living with mental health challenges from stress to psychiatric conditions. Students, staff and faculty members have all stepped up to help their fellow Billikens in need.

Harwood's work is one of a host of efforts underway around SLU’s campus that aims to support students’ as whole people in the spirit of cura personalis.

Nationally, the incidence and awareness of mental health and wellness issues has increased on college campuses. The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others, has highlighted the rise in student mental health needs in recent years.

As the SLU community does its part to stem cases of COVID-19 by practicing social distancing and limiting on-campus and in-person events, the University's wellness programs are going virtual and getting creative to help keep all Billikens safe and healthy.

"COVID-19 has brought numerous changes to the environment we all live, work, and socialize in," Harwood said. "With these new changes comes new and maybe worse mental health concerns among the college student population. Physical distancing, however, does not mean social isolation."
 
The Wellness Program's move online means new innovative programs that students, faculty, and staff can do at home, in their residence hall or on the Quad with others while maintaining the six-foot physical distancing recommended by health officials and required by SLU policy. 
 
"I believe it is my job to help students stay connected to the places and people they care about while giving them the tools to keep their mental health in check," she explained.
 
SLU students who serve as Billiken Wellness Ambassadors are also coming up with ways to keep the social connections alive this semester and supporting their fellow students' mental health, Harwood said, and some upcoming events include a virtual step challenge, suicide prevention week programs and other programs and events aimed at helping students stay healthy and connected with friends.

“The mind is like the muscles in your legs,” Harwood said. “If you do not provide the proper fuel or rest, the mind will not function to the best of its ability.”

“I really love that SLU supports cura personalis and care for the whole person – body, mind and spirit,” she continued. “In my experience, it is hard for people to have a healthy body if the mind and spirit are hurting. All three must be in balance for someone to ultimately be healthy."

"As SLU’s wellness coordinator, it really is my job to help students find the balance in all of those things so they can better succeed in school and beyond," she said. "I'm here to connect with students anytime, virtually or safely distanced.”

Get to Know Tori

Tell us about your background.

I was born and raised in the Saint Louis area. I received my undergraduate degree in exercise science and my Master of Science degree in health promotion and wellness management at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

I am also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). I did a lot of work with student wellness at Missouri State University.

What brought you to SLU?

I was born and raised in St. Louis and always loved coming to SLU for school field trips or to catch a basketball game. SLU was one of my choices for college, but I thought I should try a new city for a while.

When this job opened up, I applied right away. It was my second chance to be a part of the SLU community. I knew this was a great place to work.

What interested you in wellness, especially in higher education?

I always knew there was more to wellness than the physical side and after taking a health promotion class in my undergrad program; I wanted to know more about the other dimensions of wellness, especially mental wellness.

When I was pursuing my degrees, I felt the pressures college can bring: new place, new friends, new routines, the need to succeed. I also saw my colleagues and friends struggle with the same things. Seeing others struggle to cope with stress and anxiety, I knew I wanted to help students learn resiliency and find different ways to make college a great experience.

How do you approach creating a community that fosters lifelong wellness for students?

I believe creating a community that fosters lifelong wellness means communicating university wide to provide students many opportunities to better themselves and care for their body, mind and spirit.

How do you see mental health as connected to aspects of wellness, like fitness and nutrition, which folks might be more familiar with?
When students do not take the time to cope with their stressors or find help in doing so, their mental health declines. I think this is the same process for the physical side of the body. If you do not eat the right foods or get enough rest, the physical part of the body does not perform well.
In your view, what drives the need on college campuses to create a campus atmosphere and culture that fosters living well mentally?

Students are coming into college with stress and more stress is added in the new environment, through the challenge of school work, and through the need to succeed. SLU students are high achieving, highly involved individuals who may feel increased pressure to succeed at the highest level.

There is some disconnect with today's college students and I find they are not able to bounce back as easily when negative events happen. They never resolved the stress from that one negative event, so the stress builds on as new stress emerges.

Tell us about some of your programs and future plans.

My position focuses on mental health and suicide prevention programming.

I also run the peer education program, now called B.Well. Peer educators are Billiken Wellness Ambassadors (BWAs) that are able to go out into the SLU community and educate peer to peer.

In my first semesters at SLU,  I worked on a Mental Wellness Week with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life; finding innovative ways to de-stress during midterms; and assisting in the Sexual Assault Awareness Month planning.

In the future I really want to help students continue to find ways to decrease their stress levels and learn to be resilient: creating programs that help with time management skills; creating routines that fit different lifestyles; and increasing the number of people who participate in our “Ask, Listen, Refer” suicide prevention training.

I would also like to increase students’ knowledge and skills to help a friend or peer in need when they might be experiencing a mental health crisis.
What are some of the creative ways you are looking to foster wellness on campus in the future?

I want to find more ways to do interactive activities rather than lecturing or presenting in a traditional format to students.

I’m thinking about activities like pottery painting, doing yoga outside on a nice day, art workshops, partnering with other departments and student organizations throughout the university to do wellness fairs or other fun wellness activities.

Nationally and at home here at SLU, mental health and wellness issues have become increasingly visible. In the spirit of cura personalis, the University community's call to  “care for the individual person” and to respect the dignity of each person as a child of God, Cura in Mind, a limited series, is shining a light on the ways that Billikens are helping students cope, manage and thrive mentally and emotionally on campus.

The series aims to give those working on mental health issues on campus a chance to reach out to let Billikens know that there are friends, faculty and staff members who are here to help.

Story by Amelia Flood, University Marketing and Communications.