With finals coming soon, LBCC students and faculty are looking for ways to manage the stress that comes with the end of the semester.
LBCC has a dedicated health office at the Liberal Arts campus in room A-1010, which offers services such as short-term therapy.
Some of these counseling services offered are stress/anger management, academic stress and anxiety and panic disorder.
Professors make it a point to direct students to the mental resources that are available on campus and that students don’t have to worry since it’s paid for in their tuition.
Professors around campus believe in open communication with students so they know they are cared for and help them build their skills in advocating for themselves.
“We professors see when a student is stressed by their grade in the course and how long it takes them to complete an assignment. Those are signals that something isn’t okay and I often reach out to see what’s going on and when appropriate I recommend the student health office,” Psychology and Research Methods professor Arturo Garcia said.
Many strategies can be implemented into classes to create an environment that reduces stress.
“Having extensions for assignments at a reduced value, and allowing exams to be dropped or replaced. Showing up to lecture early to be available for students to ask questions,” department head of math and engineering Ladera Barbee said.
Students aren’t the only ones dealing with stress, professors and faculty are also having to deal with stress.
“As a department head and professor I am slammed with millions of deadlines right now, I’ve been so slammed this whole month,” Ladera said.
Some students may not know how to deal with stress and emotions since it can be their first time dealing with these types of things.
Enriqe Gil, a LBCC first year student whose major is undeclared, talks about the stress he’s facing in his classes.
“I am taking many gen-ed classes and the coursework for my astronomy and chemistry classes are stressing me out and I feel so overwhelmed,” Gil said.
Most students often feel alone and think they have no one to talk to or that no one would understand, leading them to not speak up on their stress but LBCC keeps services open to any student truly suffering and in need.