Kay Bollmus, third-year graduate intern in Mount Mary University’s Counseling and Wellness Center, has seen firstgeneration college students experience added layers of stress than other college students, and the pandemic brought a rise to those mental health concerns. “The pandemic has definitely created more stress, anxiety and depression in our communities. There is so much uncertainty, and we have a hard time as humans to process and move forward with confidence in situations like these where the uncertainty drags out for so long,” Bollmus said. A 2021 survey of about 33,000 college students nationwide by a Boston University researcher showed an increase of depression and anxiety among the college population, currently its highest percentage in history. The pandemic has led to new life experiences for many, which often leads to mental health concerns among college students. “Some of the biggest themes we are seeing in the counseling center are grief, loss of family members or friends due to the pandemic, losses of jobs and security and grief over the loss of things like a ‘normal’ high school graduation and stuff like that, sadness, loneliness, difficulty making friends and toxic relationships/boundary-making,” Bollmus said. Among this rise in mental health, both Bollmus andHuelmely De Jesus, coach and first year student initiatives coordinator at Mount Mary University’s TRIO Promise Program, share that first-generation college students often experience mental health issues at a higher rate. “A first-generation college student can sometimes, or often, have another layer of stress and challenge just because there is not someone at home or in their support system that has experienced college before,” Bollmus said. Having been a first-generation college student herself, De Jesus shares that the added layer of stress comes from having an incorrect perception of college because of the lack of exposure to others who have already gone through the whole college experience. Often first-generation students have an added level of responsibility to juggle that other college students commonly do not bear. “A lot of times, (first-generation) students don’t have time to do yoga for an hour to destress because maybe that one hour can be spent sleeping because they have to work a third shift, because they also have to go take their brothers and sisters to school…where other students don’t have those outside external responsibilities so they do have a little more time to destress or the ability to call someone and say ‘hey, I don’t really understand my homework, can you help me out?’” De Jesus said. Maria Aguilera, a Mount Mary Caroline Scholar and junior majoring in social work with Spanish and psychology minors, shares the struggles she experiences as a first-generation college student. “I think when quarantine came, I had a lot of time on my hands, or so they (my family) thought, and then my sister had just had a baby and she had nobody to babysit her baby,” Aguilera said. “At the time, I didn’t have a job, so I took on that responsibility of taking care of my nephew, but at the same time I was still in school. I had about five classes to manage, plus trying to continue volunteer work if I was able to.” Caroline Scholars need to complete 300 hours of community service each academic year. During the 2020-2021 school year, the number of hours was reduced to 50 hours, but service sites became limited especially for in-person service.
A year and a half into her added responsibilities, Aguilera recognized she had to advocate for herself. “It was really hard having to communicate to my family that I could no longer take care of my nephew because of the level of stress that it was adding to my life,” Aguilera said. “Trying to manage going back to normal, in a sense, and even though I love my family, I also realize I have to prioritize my mental health because it was affecting me very much.” Bollmus shares that recognizing the troubling thoughts, stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression, can be a start, but then different avenues for coping should be pursued, like the counseling center and self-care. “Our job as counselors is not to tell you what to do or fix things for you. We can, however, help you sort out your thoughts and feelings, and help you know yourself better. You can have a safe place where you can think out loud. Explore your feelings. Cry, if you need to, you lead the sessions,” Bollmus said.
Infographic by Giselle Martin Gomez
Fall 2021 | Arches
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