By Arden Berry | Staff Writer
Tucked into the first floor of the SUB is a space for two students who sought to provide peer-on-peer support for struggling students.
Multicultural Affairs student Well-being Ambassadors Snellville, Ga., sophomore Aliza Thobhani and Jersey Village senior Alexis Villalon are available for peer-based support.
Thobhani said she works primarily with people in the Multicultural Affairs office.
“Whether it’s for the Trailblazers Scholarship, or if they intern there, or if they’re just walking in, as a well-being ambassador from the Student Health and [Wellness] department, I’m there to just give them counseling resources and get them involved in campus as need be,” Thobhani said.
Villalon said the overall student well-being ambassador program began last school year.
“Right now, we’re trying to get out the word,” Villalon said. “We did a tabling where we did squishies and cookies, and we’re actually working on … doing goodie bags that have stress tolerance, liquid IVs and stuff like that.”
Villalon said there are seven departments that well-being ambassadors serve. The ambassadors serve by creating a community where students can receive aid from peers rather than “adults,” Villalon said.
“I’m in the Multicultural Affairs office, but then we also have some ambassadors in the School of Music, we have the School of Education, the Honors College, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Pre-Health, Global Engagement,” Villalon said.
Because Villalon arrived at Baylor her junior year, she said starting with a blank slate was challenging.
“I found myself comparing myself a lot because … I’m not doing four years, I’m doing five years,’” Villalon said. “And just dealing with those stress factors and some other personal stress factors in my life it was like, ‘I’m starting off new, and I have nowhere to go to at the moment.’”
Once she got involved in the Baylor community, though, Villalon said she was “basically everywhere.”
“I don’t want anyone else to feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m starting from scratch,’” Villalon said. “A lot of people go through this. Here’s somebody you can talk to about it.”
Villalon said well-being ambassadors also have office hours, with Villalon’s and Thobhani’s hours available on the new Multicultural Affairs Well-being Instagram.
“Our holistic approach program is meant for students to have someone to come talk to about anything on their mind or need advice for anything school related or personal life, but feel as though they may not have someone at the moment to do so,” a post on the page reads.
Thobhani said she would “highly encourage” students to come speak with the ambassadors and attend well-being events.
“I would love for students to get involved in this department,” Thobhani said. “It’s so vast and it’s so special. I think getting involved in that is not only beneficial to other students, but also helps you because then you learn how to take care of yourself better and you get to know other people.”
