As a young adult managing the college experience, the challenge of balancing academic, financial and personal aspects of life can be overwhelming. It is easy for a college student to end up feeling stressed, isolated or uncertain about their path.
At Texas Tech University, however, an array of resources exists to provide support, but students may not know where to look for them.
Student Success Specialist for the Huckabee College of Architecture, Aaron Smith, is at Texas Tech to be one of those guiding hands. Describing his role as that of a non-academic advisor, Smith emphasizes the goal of helping students navigate the extensive web of resources available at the university.
“We are here to be those one-on-one guides for students, so they don’t feel like they are going through this whole scary 4, 5, 6-year journey by themselves,” Smith explains.
Smith acknowledged that while Student Success Specialists may not have all the answers, he and his colleagues can connect students with the appropriate resources.
“Whether it is financial, physical, emotional or emergency situations, if we don’t know the answer to it, which sometimes it’s hard for one person to know every single resource, we can find the name, email and department of the person who can give you that information,” said Smith.
Among the programs that Student Success Specialists collaborate with is the Student Mental Health Community (SMHC). Serena Shade, a Senior Mental Health Professional for SMHC, describes the community as a space for students to come together for peer support.
SMHC hosts mental health meetings, monthly community lunches, fun weekend events and is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm.
Shade helps run the community with the director of the program, Dr. Tom Kimball. Together, they are building a program that prioritizes genuine peer-to-peer connection, but Shade also stresses the importance of self-care.
“The most valuable resources, and I know there are on-campus resources, but sleeping, eating right, taking your medication, going to therapy, and then I think what Dr. Kimball’s vision was, I think it’s huge, is connection. Not connection behind the screen, that’s not real connection. Peer-to-peer connection,” said Shade.
When students find themselves in need of assistance, Texas Tech University offers various avenues for support. The Student Mental Health Community and Student Success Specialists are just a couple of the resources available to guide students through the challenges of college life.