Presenter: Lauren Macek, Psychology, Global Public Health Scholars
For the past seven months I had the opportunity to work with Evolving Minds. Evolving Minds is a nonprofit organization who’s practices center around community, connection, and care. Its goal is to spread awareness for mental health and build a “culture of CARE” (Community, Advocacy, Resilience, Empowerment) by using learned resilience and mindfulness skills. Some of these skills include sharing gratitude and the mindful pause. Evolving Minds works to train students and professionals to implement these mindfulness skills within their communities. By doing so, the “culture of CARE” becomes more prevalent and the community becomes resilient. My role with Evolving Minds is a Mindful Peer Educator and to build a “culture of CARE” in my community. During the first month of my practicum, I learned four mindfulness skills: sharing gratitude, remembering joy, the mindful pause, and recognizing goodness. After I finished this portion of the training, I was responsible for teaching these skills to others in my community. I would video chat three members of my community and we practiced these skills together. Also, I helped fundraise for the “Rooted in Resilience” campaign, which funds Mindful Peer Training for educators. Both of my tasks focused on strengthening community and human connection.