Marlborough is implementing a new wellness representative on its student council in the upcoming 2022-2023 school year.
This addition was proposed to the administration by Natalie ‘24 and Nicole ‘23 with the help of Health & Wellness Instructor and Coordinator Nicole Beck.
Both Natalie and Nicole define “wellness” as finding a balance of managing one’s responsibilities while also taking time for self-care.
“Especially at a place like Marlborough, you’re going to have to put work and effort into your academics, but there’s also so much more in regards to social life and friends and family,” Natalie said.
Nicole recounted her experience dealing with the constant pressure for high academic achievement or “stress olympics” at Marlborough. She hopes that implementing the wellness representative will provide support for students experiencing a similar struggle.
“We noticed that the representatives on Marlborough’s student council represented topics that were important to the Marlborough community, and we thought that mental wellbeing should also be represented like that too,” Nicole said.
Similar to other student council members, the wellness representative will be included as a part of the class council for every grade as well as an all-school council position. According to Beck, allocating each grade a wellness representative will give each class a platform to voice their opinions about issues such as mental health, emotional learning initiatives and restorative processes at Marlborough.
“A crucial component to the role will be the ability to remain responsive to the real-time, unique needs of each class and communicate those needs to deans and advisory team members,” Beck said.
After working with the administration throughout the first semester to plan and finalize its introduction to the Marlborough community, the new position will be formally announced to students during class meetings in the upcoming months. As someone who has witnessed this entire process from start to finish, Beck applauded the proactive efforts of Natalie and Nicole to bring about this change.
“Nicole and Natalie should feel proud of the dedication they have put forth as they continue to strive to co-create a position that has the potential for lasting impact,” Beck said. “May their example inspire future students to be equally powerful agents of change.”
