Just because you aren’t physically on campus doesn’t mean you’re left to fend for yourself. I know it may feel this way sometimes, especially if you aren’t even attending your classes in Winona. But you are not forgotten.
To reach students no matter where their “classroom” may be this semester, WSU is now offering many of their student services virtually. Here are all the ways you can get assistance from a distance this semester.
Take Care of Your Mental Health with Counseling Services
There’s no doubt––college is stressful. And throwing a pandemic into the mix definitely doesn’t make anything easier. However, this doesn’t need to be a barrier to earning your degree and achieving your goals.
WSU’s Counseling Services staff are now offering tele-counseling sessions via Zoom Monday-Friday to help you succeed in both your personal and academic life. Set up an appointment to talk out your concerns, get helpful advice, and know that you aren’t alone.
Counseling Services also offers online resources, such as guided meditation videos, where you can find ways to cope with any stress or anxiety you might be feeling. This can help you take a moment, breathe, relax, and know you will get through this––whatever it may be.
Stay on Top of Your Physical Health and Wellness with Health Services
Your physical health is just as important as your mental health. WSU’s Health Services is now offering tele-health appointments Monday-Friday from 7:30am-4:30pm. You can meet with a physician, nurse practitioner, RN, or LPN to get your health in-check from wherever you are.
Feeling sick or have a health-related question? Although googling your symptoms or questions is a start, you can also contact the Ask-A-Nurse line to get the (reliable) health-related information you need.
Another helpful tip––health services also offers on-site COVID testing available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12-2pm, in case the need may arise for you or someone you know.
Study Smarter Not Harder with Academic Support
Could you use some extra support through a tough class? Or need help deciding which classes are right for you? We’ve all been there.
Academic support is not just for students who are struggling. Support is tailored to all ability levels and academic standings.
The Warrior Success Center offers many free resources that are now virtual to help you succeed in your classes and prepare you for your future career goals.
Through these services, you can schedule a virtual appointment for individualized advising to help you decide which classes to take to get you headed in the right direction or to confirm that you’re already on the right path. Speaking from experience, sometimes just some extra reassurance can make the biggest difference in your college journey.
You can also get access to virtual tutoring for a variety of classes through TutorTrac. Since the Writing Center is no longer offering in-person appointments, you can also make virtual appointments with a Writing Center tutor through TutorTrac to assist you through your college writing needs and to strengthen your writing skills––lifelong skills that will always come in handy in college and beyond.
The Warrior Success Center also offers resources, such as TRIO, for students who are first-generation college students, are low-income, or have a disability registered through Access Services, who may be struggling to meet their academic goals.
Get Career-Ready with Career Services
Although the world is uncertain right now, it always helps to be prepared for whatever might come your way. One way to do that is to gain skills that will help showcase all of your hard work to a future employer.
The Warrior Success Center also offers free career services where you––whether a student or alumni––can get help with resume writing, preparing for interviews, searching for jobs, or even furthering your education to graduate school.
Career Services provides helpful videos and tips that answer frequently asked questions, as well as ways you can get in touch virtually with career service advisors and staff through AdvisorTrac ().
As a soon-to-be graduate, it’s nice to know that I have resources to turn to that will help prepare me for the real world. I plan to explore the resources available through career services to help polish up my resume and prepare for any interviews––virtual or in-person––I will likely have once I graduate.
Find a Community Through Equity & Inclusive Excellence
As an ethnically diverse student, I continually feel supported at WSU, even if I’m learning virtually. The Equity & Inclusive Excellence Office continues to offer opportunities for coming together and discussing how we can all foster an understanding of each other and those different from ourselves, even when we are far apart.
This semester, there are many virtual events sponsored by the Equity & Inclusive Excellence Office that raise awareness and appreciation for the many diverse cultures and perspectives in the WSU community.
You can get connected with new people and experience new cultural and social perspectives by attending these virtual events, no matter where you are.
Attending these virtual events may also help you gain credit for certain classes––specifically in the WGSS department. For me personally, attending one of these events will work as a real-world perspective into the struggles and experiences of those in the LGBTQ+ community for my Intro to LGBTQ+ Studies class.
Here are many of the ways that WSU is reaching farther in this newly distant world. Although we all may be farther apart this semester, we are still apart of the same community. WSU wants to help support you in all that you do, whether you are near or far.
-Anjuli Harris