Across the board, everybody interviewed agreed that mental and physical health plays a large role in academic success. Of the five people I interviewed, people seemed to prioritize mental health over physical health. One person interviewed said “Without a healthy mentality it is difficult to stay on top of school work and focus in class” which was the general consensus of everyone interviewed.

Four of the five people I talked to mentioned a connection between physical and mental health without being asked specifically. One interviewee said “They can both jump start the other and help build a routine that benefits your academics”. I believe that many students would agree that when their brain-body connection is strong and healthy it is much easier to take care of their assignments.

When asked if there was anything Temple could be doing better to promote mental and physical health one response was clear; students want to improve aspects regarding mental health across the board. Everyone I interviewed said students would benefit from more information about available resources and a more open dialogue about mental health.

“I believe if instructors talked about it more on their syllabus and showed they were compassionate students would be more likely to seek help” said a recent transfer student. While I agree with this, I also think it would be important to have additional reminders from instructors. In my experience, many professors talk about mental health ONCE when they reach that section of their syllabus, but how about a reminder when students are in the bulk of the semester and things are falling apart? Or even better, taking a few seconds every day or week to let students know that help is available. You never know when the idea of getting help will start to resonate with someone.