Striving for Wellness is one of the newer clubs for the students of Hampton Bays High School. Advised by Ms. Zavala, one of the school’s social workers, Striving for Wellness focuses on coping with mental health issues and bringing more awareness to the importance of mental health. This club is an open space for all students to come together to share their own issues and learn coping mechanisms to allow them to handle issues in a healthier way
Striving for Wellness club began in December 2023 but the idea of the club has been around since 2021. Students Juven Reyes-Flores, who graduated in 2022 and Minal Naeem, who graduated in 2024, wanted to start a club based on mental health as the school had previously not had one. Ms. Zavala had also wanted to start a club focused on mental health because she feels it’s important to spread awareness about mental health and talk about topics that are not normalized. This had led to Ms. Zavala presenting the idea of the club last year with its approval coming in December.
Ms. Zavala explains that everyone is welcome when it comes to Striving for Wellness.. She invites all students to join these meetings whether or not they decide to come to every single meeting or just one. When asked what she wants students to take from this club she said, “To know mental health is just as important as physical health.” Ms. Zavala strives to build a positive environment in the club, a place in which students know they are allowed to be open and freely express themselves.
The Striving for Wellness club is much more than a place in which students go to openly share their feelings but also to socialize and be more active. Each club meeting differs by doing different activities such as making stress balls, affirmation cards and learning breathing strategies. They also do activities such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness sessions. Ms. Zavala makes an effort to do activities such as these to have the group members socialize and grow comfortable in the space. She doesn’t want to just teach and explain coping mechanisms, or simply explain what they should do in difficult situations, but instead she tries to guide students to go through their own thought process to understand the issues and how they would handle them.
The Striving for Wellness club currently has many plans for the future. One of the current major goals for the future is for the club to go on the HUGS trip in May. This is a weekend trip that focuses on learning about drug and alcohol trends and also focused on mental health. This trip does cost money which is leading the club to begin thinking of possible fundraising ideas to cover the expenses. Ms. Zavala also wants to possibly bring the club to the animal shelter as they are always in need of volunteers.
Although being a fairly new club they have already seemed to have built a comfortable community between the students. Senior and club presdient Emily Tobar Fonseca strives to build a safe space for peers. When asked what she wants students to take from this club she said she wanted “students to leave feeling comfortable knowing that they have people who care about them and that their feelings are never invalidated.”
Senior Emily Londono, who is vice president, also strives to build a positive environment while trying to help convey topics to the students as she feels she can help relate to them. She said she wants students to know “it’s ok not to be like everyone else” and that “they are not alone.”
The striving for wellness club currently meets twice a month on Tuesdays in room 9 at 2:30.
