For many students, attending college can prove to be a challenging time. While at Iowa State, some students might feel homesick, while others might find it difficult to navigate American culture after growing up in a different country. Other students might feel out of place as the first in their family able to go to college, while other students might arrive at college later in life after raising a family or serving in the military. When facing these individual obstacles, it can also be difficult for students to find the resources and mentorship needed to help them thrive, which can often lead to even greater challenges, such as personal debt or physical illness.

To provide more support to its students, Iowa State established Student Wellness in 2017. This new department uses a comprehensive approach to promote a healthy university that values all students' well-being while also examining the broader issues of social inequity that serve as barriers to students' academic and personal success. In doing so, Student Wellness follows the recommendations of the Okanagan Charter, a framework for personal well-being outlined at the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges, and helps students navigate eight wellness dimensions: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual wellness.

In guiding individuals to create positive goals and shape behavior changes to meet those goals, Student Wellness works closely with ISU WellBeing, as well as with many other campus and community partners. Student Wellness focuses on various topics including food insecurity, body image, eating disorder prevention, suicide prevention, mental health promotion, alcohol and other drug prevention, collegiate recovery, power-based personal violence prevention, and more.  If you would like to take advantage of these resources, contact Student Wellness at studentwellness@iastate.edu.

See the dropdowns below to see how Student Wellness is making an impact within each of the three facets of sustainability. Contact Student Wellness via email at studentwellness@iastate.edu.

  • Student Wellness collaborates with the Office of Student Financial Success in supporting the financial literacy program.
  • Student Wellness promotes the philosophy of health as an economic resource. Within this mindset that prioritizes health and wellness, students are less likely to miss class, work and other campus activities.

  • By supporting wellness in connecting students with sustainability programs and resources, Student Wellness creates opportunities that protect and enhance the environment, as well as add commitment and resilience toward protecting the environment for future generations.
  • Of the many wellness opportunities offered, special events and volunteer opportunities allow students to cultivate an individual appreciation for and connection to their natural environment as they discover and participate in their own passions at Iowa State.
  • One of Student Wellness' featured wellness topic areas is environment and sustainability. This dimension revolves around choosing a lifestyle of committed effort toward sustaining the earth's natural environment.

  • Student Wellness created its first major program, Peer Wellness Educators, for students to promote wellness and student success on a peer-to-peer level through outreach and peer capacity building. The program is staffed by highly-trained, paid student employees..
  • The Green Dot program empowers the campus community to speak out against power-based violence by utilizing education, outreach and staff development as mechanisms toward a goal of more green dots than red dots through 40-50 campus facilitators, increasing awareness and competency around bystander intervention skills. Green dots are any choice, behavior, word or attitude that promotes safety for everyone and communicates intolerance for power-based personal violence. Red dots are instances of power-based personal violence.
    • Proactive green dots are things people can do to prevent power-based personal violence from happening.
    • Reactive green dots are things people can do to intervene in a red dot situation.
  • Student Wellness offers Wellbeing Coaching, a peer-to-peer health coaching program, utilizing reflective and motivational interviewing skills rather than providing prescribed instruction to empower students in the development of behavioral changes and achieving their goals.

We are striving to create a health-promoting university that supports the success and well-being of all students.

Brian Vanderheyden, Student Wellness Director