00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:10 Amy Hecht Welcome to this edition of connect with VP Hecht, your guide to all things student life at Florida State. 00:00:11:12 - 00:00:21:14 Amy Hecht I'm joined today by two special guests, Melanie Morales and Trinity Frazier, who are members of RENEW a student organization at FSU. So welcome. 00:00:21:16 - 00:00:23:03 Melanie Thank you for having us. 00:00:23:05 - 00:00:26:04 Amy Hecht So tell me, what is RENEW? 00:00:26:06 - 00:00:29:14 Trinity So RENEW means realizing everyone's needs for emotional wellness, 00:00:29:16 - 00:00:32:21 Trinity for basically a student organization that supports students and 00:00:32:21 - 00:00:34:10 Trinity campus organizations with, 00:00:34:10 - 00:00:39:05 Trinity topics around mental health and like reducing the stigma about seeking mental health on campus. 00:00:39:05 - 00:00:41:01 Amy Hecht It's amazing. Yeah. Much needed. 00:00:41:03 - 00:00:42:20 Melanie Yeah, exactly. So basically, 00:00:42:20 - 00:00:45:21 Melanie what we want to do is like, educate like people on, 00:00:45:21 - 00:01:01:07 Melanie different topics that are not, like very much talked about. And also like we do like, for example, like workshops, we do like, events that like try to like bring a little bit of like the highlight of mental, wellness around campus. 00:01:01:07 - 00:01:04:03 Melanie And sometimes, like, people, are scared 00:01:04:03 - 00:01:12:17 Melanie asking for help for, like, for example, like the big professionals and then maybe they come to us because they feel like more like the relatedness, a. 00:01:12:18 - 00:01:13:13 Amy Hecht Peer to peer. 00:01:13:15 - 00:01:18:22 Melanie To peer. Yeah. Exactly. So yeah, that's like main like park like what we do here. 00:01:18:23 - 00:01:22:17 Amy Hecht Now. How did you two get involved with for new. 00:01:22:19 - 00:01:46:21 Trinity So my clinical psychology professor recommended the organization to me because I told her I was interested in pursuing clinical psychology. Grad school. So she was saying that was a great way to get experience, on campus and help out other students with those issues. So I expanded on. She told me to go to the website, RENEW FSU, and I ended up saving my application, did that interview 00:01:47:01 - 00:01:49:12 Trinity process, and then I was able to get in and become a member. 00:01:49:14 - 00:01:51:09 Amy Hecht Amazing. What about you, Melanie? 00:01:51:15 - 00:02:05:07 Melanie So the first spring semester I came in here, I was a roommate with Rebecca. Shout out to Rebecca, which was part of the executive board. So we will study psychology. And she was like, in this group, 00:02:05:07 - 00:02:06:16 Melanie we are like, we are 00:02:06:19 - 00:02:09:08 Melanie group of people who share, like, the same passion for, like, 00:02:09:08 - 00:02:10:05 Melanie mental health. 00:02:10:07 - 00:02:21:01 Melanie I think you should be, like, able to like, well, we go through, like, this process of interviewing and everything. And I was like, yeah, sure. Like I wanted to be part of, like, something, 00:02:21:03 - 00:02:25:02 Melanie and I was like, really blown away when she told me, like, we are all 00:02:25:04 - 00:02:27:03 Melanie sharing the same passion for, like, mental health. 00:02:27:03 - 00:02:29:23 Melanie So what? I was like, so I'm going to do that. 00:02:30:01 - 00:02:33:22 Melanie So then, yeah, the same thing, the same process. I went and I send like 00:02:33:22 - 00:02:35:13 Melanie application and they told me to 00:02:35:13 - 00:02:46:09 Melanie go and do, like an interview, which is like a mock. I like you were talking like to one of them. And basically they're trying like to see, like your passion. 00:02:46:11 - 00:02:48:06 Melanie how are you doing? Like, 00:02:48:08 - 00:02:52:17 Melanie everything. And just get here. 00:02:52:17 - 00:02:57:21 Melanie I been two years here in RENEW, and I've been surrounded by, like, many great people. 00:02:57:23 - 00:02:59:02 Melanie it's been amazing. 00:02:59:04 - 00:03:03:08 Amy Hecht Yeah. How much of a time commitment is to be a member of RENEW? 00:03:03:10 - 00:03:15:20 Trinity our organization, meets, weekly on Mondays at 630. So I'm like, that's like the biggest thing, but that's where we also like, discuss how we are going to split our task amongst each other because there's a good amount of us in RENEW. 00:03:15:23 - 00:03:21:04 Trinity we do tabling events, we do presentations to organizations, and then we do individual, 00:03:21:04 - 00:03:22:03 Trinity sessions with students. 00:03:22:08 - 00:03:30:17 Trinity So I feel like, it's not a huge time commitment because it's so many of us, we're able to divide our time amongst each other, but it is, 00:03:30:17 - 00:03:38:17 Trinity to commitment because you want to make sure you're dedicated to help the students on campus. So just making sure that you're available to cater to those events that we. 00:03:38:18 - 00:03:39:04 Trinity Yeah. 00:03:39:07 - 00:03:49:17 Amy Hecht So what is the best thing you've gained from RENEW? What do you take away if it's a life lesson or a memory, what are you taking away from RENEW so Much? 00:03:49:17 - 00:03:55:20 Trinity Oh my gosh, I love RENEW. I feel like the community is a big thing that has impacted me. 00:03:55:22 - 00:04:04:05 Trinity coming into RENEW as a sophomore, I was very nervous. I was very shy, but I feel like it poured into me and allowed me to break out and 00:04:04:05 - 00:04:12:04 Trinity speak more and also just be around, like a lot of people who care about mental health as much as I do, who also like, want to support other students on campus. 00:04:12:04 - 00:04:12:20 Trinity And they're always 00:04:12:20 - 00:04:24:19 Trinity so kind, so nice. So I feel like that has been such a great experience for me. And then also just learning how to learning about these mental health topics as I'm speaking with other organizations about it. It's helped me in my own self, 00:04:24:21 - 00:04:28:17 Trinity learning how to avoid burnout in college, you know, to reduce my stress. 00:04:28:21 - 00:04:32:15 Trinity So that way I'm able to do this for other people. Yes, a great thing. 00:04:32:16 - 00:04:34:05 Amy Hecht Very good. 00:04:34:07 - 00:04:36:17 Melanie So for me, I also love very much 00:04:36:22 - 00:04:46:19 Melanie meal. And I think like the biggest part, it's maybe the confidence and the experience it has like given me because I was also 00:04:46:19 - 00:04:48:12 Melanie a very shy student at first. 00:04:48:12 - 00:04:56:09 Melanie And then you have like, you really put that like this label on yourself, like I can do public speaking, like I can do this. 00:04:56:11 - 00:04:58:22 Melanie And then you, you just do the thing and you're like, 00:04:58:22 - 00:05:11:20 Melanie actually helping someone. I can do these. Like, it's giving me the confidence to speak in front of people and, you know, like, know that people are hearing me or that I'm helping in some kind of way and, and also the experience because 00:05:11:22 - 00:05:13:17 Melanie you're a peer to peer with a person. 00:05:13:17 - 00:05:20:19 Melanie And for example, like, I know many of us want to be like a clinical psychologist. So this is like a very good practice for that. 00:05:20:19 - 00:05:27:11 Melanie So yeah, basically that and like being confident that anything that you're saying or like helping like it's really doing 00:05:27:11 - 00:05:28:22 Melanie an impact. Yeah. 00:05:29:00 - 00:05:59:19 Amy Hecht Well I know as the vice president, Dean affairs, the work that you do is incredible because we've seen the stigma decrease on campus so that students are seeking help, whether it's through RENEW or going to see a counselor or just talking to their roommate about their mental health. You've really done incredible work, so I am very grateful. So what would be one thing you'd want your peers to know about RENEW or mental health that you know, you strive to kind of share with others? 00:05:59:20 - 00:06:04:00 Melanie I think that our peers, like, should know that it's okay, like to ask for help, 00:06:04:00 - 00:06:08:13 Melanie if needed. University. Like it really is like a place where everything, 00:06:08:13 - 00:06:13:05 Melanie changes from, like, what you've, like, known throughout your whole life to right now. 00:06:13:07 - 00:06:16:08 Melanie And it's really good. Like to ask for help and know that everyone, 00:06:16:08 - 00:06:19:19 Melanie even like us that are trying to help you are going through the same things. 00:06:19:19 - 00:06:23:18 Melanie And to really be able like to ask for that help instead of 00:06:23:18 - 00:06:29:10 Melanie staying with that. I think that a shared problem, it's like a less of a weight problem for you. 00:06:29:11 - 00:06:45:11 Trinity Yeah, I agree with all of that. And I also want to say to my peers like, no issue is too, too big or too, I feel like sometimes they can be like, oh, I just was dealing with anxiety on this test, but I'm good. So I just knowing that if it's a small issue, you can still come seek help. 00:06:45:13 - 00:07:01:15 Trinity There's a lot of things that go on in college that I realized once I got in, we knew that a lot of people deal with and may not feel comfortable discussing, or may not know who to go to, to turn to. So I feel like we meet in a safe space where they can come and sometimes talk to us, because we've kind of been through some of those same things. 00:07:01:15 - 00:07:03:20 Trinity So you have to be that person to help them through it. 00:07:03:20 - 00:07:16:07 Amy Hecht So yeah, they don't have to do it alone. Yeah, yeah. Very good. So we are at the point we always have our viewers or listeners right in some ask Amy questions. And so we have some good ones today. 00:07:16:09 - 00:07:21:16 Amy Hecht Both of you kind of are psychology majors. Yeah. So if somebody is interested 00:07:21:20 - 00:07:27:06 Amy Hecht in joining RENEW, do they have to be a psychology major or have any special training? 00:07:27:08 - 00:07:30:15 Melanie You don't have to be a psychology major. Neither have 00:07:30:15 - 00:07:39:11 Melanie a specific training in reality. Like you can be there and the training will like the experience and everything will come by just by being there. Okay. We have different degrees 00:07:39:11 - 00:07:46:12 Melanie the group, like we all don't need to be like psychology majors. Like we all need to share the same passion for the mental health. 00:07:46:12 - 00:07:47:10 Melanie But we don't know 00:07:47:10 - 00:07:49:23 Melanie don't exactly to be psychology majors. 00:07:50:01 - 00:08:00:22 Amy Hecht Okay. Very good. So what am I able as a student to share and RENEW? What if I disclose something concerning to a peer educator? 00:08:01:00 - 00:08:04:22 Amy Hecht What are the protocols and are you confidential? 00:08:04:23 - 00:08:12:09 Trinity So review is not confidential since we are also students is something concerning what share it to us. We are required to report up 00:08:12:09 - 00:08:14:08 Trinity because we're not professionals, 00:08:14:08 - 00:08:25:11 Trinity You are able to share whatever you would like because we are students. The topics are pretty wide range, so we don't like try to limit students from coming in and telling us about, any topics. 00:08:25:11 - 00:08:32:23 Trinity But if the issue is beyond our scope, we were referring to Caps or someone higher up that can be able to help you with means that we may not be able to meet. 00:08:33:00 - 00:08:36:13 Amy Hecht Sure. So the goal is really making sure they get the help they need. And if it's not 00:08:36:15 - 00:08:39:19 Amy Hecht you, the only reason you'd be sharing is to get them the 00:08:39:22 - 00:08:41:04 Amy Hecht help they need. Yeah. 00:08:41:05 - 00:08:47:06 Melanie Yeah the like the only and like we so we want is like to get the help they really need. 00:08:47:08 - 00:08:57:16 Melanie And we have our boundaries like we are really here to help. But we also know like our boundaries, like we are a licensed psychologist. Yet we want to obviously help. But there's some things that are 00:08:57:16 - 00:08:58:15 Melanie out of our scope. 00:08:58:15 - 00:09:01:00 Melanie So we tend to pass it like for example, 00:09:01:00 - 00:09:01:22 Melanie to some, like professional 00:09:02:03 - 00:09:04:06 Melanie who care like that, it's above us. 00:09:04:08 - 00:09:05:15 Amy Hecht Okay. Very good. 00:09:05:17 - 00:09:16:10 Amy Hecht Well, thank you for all you do for our students. It's incredible. And thank you for joining us for this episode of connect with VP Hecht, your guide to all things student life at Florida State.