We often talk about what makes Tri-Cities Prep a unique experience for high school students. Cura Personalis or “care for the entire person” is one example that sets Prep apart from the rest.
Martin Powers ’18, had wanted to plan a mental health day for students since attending his Christian Scriptures class sophomore year. At times, he had felt the strain of being overwhelmed and stressed as a high school student, knew of classmates that were also struggling and thought it would be great to have a day where students could come to school and focus on their mental and emotional well-being, rather than academics. His thoughts were to invite guest speakers that could speak about nutrition, exercise, time management and other topics that would benefit high school students. In his proposal, he said that students are called to have compassion and that he wanted to “reach out to my classmates and all students struggling with mental, emotional and/or psychological stress.”
On October 27th, Martin’s project came to life. Students collectively attended presentations by Brooke Flodin, Counseling Psychologist on Solutions to Solving Stress, Anxiety and Sleeplessness. Prep assistant football coach, Dennis Kennedy spoke on exercise and mental wellness and John Simkin spoke to the students about mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. The students had the opportunity to choose other classes such as “Food and Mood” by personal trainer and Prep parent, Claude Hafez; a presentation on Relaxation/Breathing Techniques with Jennifer Comfort and Prep graduate Chris Yakawich ’14, gave his personal testimony on health and happiness. Students were also offered a quiet space to catch up on their studies if they wanted and could also hang out with their friends in the hospitality room for games and R&R. At the end of the day, the student body gathered once again to celebrate mass and begin their weekend. Martin’s efforts were rewarded by the happy faces and words of appreciation that he received from his peers and teachers.
Our Prep community is truly blessed to have students like Martin Powers who show great character and share their remarkable compassion for one another.
