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Walking groups can help college students build community and improve their mental and physical health.
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College students often have to walk a significant amount around campus, navigating between academic buildings, residence halls and other student facilities, but a group of students at West Virginia University is meeting regularly to walk around campus for their wellness.
This summer, two of WVU’s mental health–focused offices partnered to create a regular walking group, encouraging students to get outside, meet new people and prioritize their health. The initiative, Wake Up and Walk, is inclusive of all students and part of a larger focus on supporting students’ wellness over the summer term.
How it works: Wake Up and Walk is a drop-in experience hosted by the Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services and BeWell, an office focused on mental health resources, for any student who wants to participate.
The goal is to enhance students’ mental well-being, self-care practices and social connections—particularly in the post-pandemic era, which isolated many students in their homes— according to WVU’s student paper, The Daily Athenaeum.
Each weekly morning walk has two groups, one that starts on the Evansdale campus and another on the Health Sciences Center (HSC) campus, which meet in the middle. Both groups are led by staff members but are primarily student attended.
The walk is about two miles, lasting about an hour and a half in total, and takes place rain or shine (but is canceled for lightning). Participants mostly walk on the sidewalk, but there are some gravel paths as well.
Encouraging Outdoor Wellness
Michigan State University’s Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum launched a program in 2022 that invites students and other visitors to engage in mindfulness and wellness activities while outdoors, helping them connect with their minds and bodies through holistic practices.
The impact: Facilitating health and wellness for college students is a challenge many college leaders are looking to tackle, but students’ health goals are closer than they may seem.
A spring 2023 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse found 57 percent of students want to work toward getting more exercise, and 43 percent want to spend more time outside. Going on walks or hikes is also a preferred wellness exercise for 28 percent of students.
Group walks have also been a trend among college students, particularly young women, as a way to socialize and stay in shape. More than connecting students, WVU’s walks can help counseling center staff get in front of students and build connections, helping them reach out to learners who may need additional support.
Campus walks are one way presidents or other administrators build relationships with students and keep a pulse on campus, allowing for authentic interaction as well.
A wider focus: Wake Up and Walk is one of five wellness outreach programs the Carruth Center offered over summer 2024—with Outdoor Socials, Summer Fun at HSC, Craft and Chat, and Grad Student Bike & Banter being the others.
Each event seeks to bring students together to do nonacademic activities, many of them outdoors, encouraging mental health awareness and care. Grad Student Bike and Banter is a graduate student–specific program that is family friendly to include student parents and help them explore the outdoors together.
The counseling center is also open during the summer hours, and WVU provides online therapy for students on or off campus.
Do you have a wellness tip that might help others encourage student success? Tell us about it.
