I first felt my heart pounding through my chest somewhere between the first and second game of dodgeball, and it was around then that I realised how out-of-place I really was. The campus' THRIVE program had sponsored and organised for a slew of mental health-focused events throughout the month of November, and this particular dodgeball game hosted by the Hong Kong Students' Association was but one of them. It was one thing for me not to have exercised for several weeks, but it struck me as the first game wrapped up that wearing my usual attire of a dress shirt, dress shoes, sweater, and plain black jeans probably were not contributing to my success, either.
I had first heard of THRIVE from my partner, who'd mentioned it offhandedly at some point, and then seen several posters across campus afterwards. Soon after, I got in contact with Mandy Little, the campus Co-op and Career Coordinator and designated coordinator of the THRIVE program. What follows is a roughly accurate transcript of a conversation I had with her on November 13:
Quinlin Osadczuk: So, what is the goal of THRIVE?
Mandy Little: [Thrive is] a UBC community campaign that's dedicated to highlight[ing] the resources, groups, and departments that UBC Okanagan has available on campus. It's focused on a couple things, like sleeping schedules [and] eating well, but it's also to fund anyone that's interested to create awareness for mental wellbeing generally on campus. We have resources available for students in co-op work experiences, and we just got some new resources up for them. Co-op is a time when people tend to explore who they want to be, and we knew we wanted to replicate the resources we had there for the campus.
QO: How is THRIVE creating awareness for these resources?
ML: There's a THRIVE event calendar for all events that are happening in the month of November, and they've already done a few, like yoga and coffee gatherings. We want to cover all the different groups on campus!
Everyone's in charge of their own events, and again, we've got our own calendar to make sure that all the events are public. We're trying to make some adjustments to the UBCO HR staff and benefits, and we're going to overhaul a lot of campus resources, like counselling, the wellness office which has its own resources, and again, the HR for staff and faculty. People will be hearing about us through THRIVE bags, posters, emails, [and] things like that.
Mandy also referred me to the THRIVE website. Attached therein is a complete calendar of all upcoming THRIVE events, detailing which unique events are available over the coming weeks. Each day holds, at minimum, two events intended to help take the edge off of education, and to allow you to have a good time while learning something new or taking the time to rest.
They also offer several means of working with THRIVE to host your own events, whatever that means for you. This includes contacts to organisers as well as a Q&A section for the generally curious. Finally, they provide mental health resources, both online and on-campus, to help students keep themselves well during the lull period between (most) midterms and finals. Included on these lists are sources for those going through tough times as well as ways for friends to support friends. While the program will have ended by the beginning of December, those resources will not go away. Presuming nothing changes, UBCO’s HR and mental health resources will continue to improve, and those same clubs will continue to host events as they always have.
Considering that THRIVE has been a recurring event every November since 2019, it is safe to say that the program is well-established at this point. Between mental health resources and games of dodgeball, most kinks have been ironed out of the program, and UBCO has established a well-organised relationship between clubs, off-campus events, and the campus leadership.
Which brings me back to dodgeball. I figured that in order to properly take part in THRIVE, I should at least attend an event. The truth is, I loved it. I met people, I had some incredible snacks from Hong Kong offered by the club, and I didn't even slip that often. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to attend a THRIVE event, but here's a tip from someone with experience: wear gym clothes when going to the gym. They help more than neckties do.
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