“In the engineering school at the University of Akron, students have a saying, Work, have a social life and sleep. Choose two. Does this ever feel like your life? Those at the Counseling, Testing and Career Center at UA think it does. Several programs are offered in the months of October and November, including I’m So STRESSED!, I’m so TIRED!, Reduce Your Math Anxiety and Stress Management through Biofeedback Thinking.”
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In the engineering school at the University of Akron, students have a saying, Work, have a social life and sleep. Choose two.

Does this ever feel like your life?

Those at the Counseling, Testing and Career Center at UA think it does.

Several programs are offered in the months of October and November, including I’m So STRESSED!, I’m so TIRED!, Reduce Your Math Anxiety and Stress Management through Biofeedback Thinking. Another more creative session is called Diary of a Stressed Black Woman.

Why does the UA feel the need to provide these programs?

Most college students are really busy, said Dr. Greg Robinson, Senior Associate Directors of Student Affairs. At Akron, many of the students are working part-or full-time to get them through school, and people need to have a social life on top of that.

Having been here for a long time, people have always been stressed. Recently, people have been more open about talking about their struggles.

Academic workshops are among the most popular programs, Robinson said. He also mentioned that the programs are beneficial to students even if only a few show up each session. At least those few are being helped, he said.

The sudden need for more programs stems from what Robinson called the lifting of a cultural taboo.

A lot of people are concerned because they don’t want to think of themselves as needing help, or being crazy.

According to Robinson, over 50 percent of students who use the counseling center services have grade point averages above 3.0. The counseling center, on average, serves about 5,000 students every school year.

It seems like those who want to succeed know this is the right place to go for help, Robinson said.

Robinson, who has been at the UA since 1994, pointed out that there are specific techniques to teach people how to deal with stress and the entire counseling service center is designed to help with this.

When students are doing better in school and have better time-management skills, they are less stressed, he said. People should take advantage of the opportunities we give.

College is really complex, and people get really busy and trying to balance all that can be hard to do on your own, he explained.

There’s a big jump from high school and there’s no reason that people need to figure it out all on their own when we have people who do this for a living here.

Robinson said there has always been a need for these services to students, just like there are services available to anyone in any career field.

If you have a difficult tax situation, you go to an accountant. If you have a difficult life, you go to someone who can help figure out your life. That’s what we do here – we help you make the most of your college career.

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