BSA Outreach - Centennial Elementary School

Photography by Paige Robinson, Staff Photographer

Members of Regis University’s Black Student Alliance took a trip to Centennial Elementary School to create a sense of belonging and empowerment in young Black individuals. We met with grades Kindergarten through 5th grade and spoke on what it is like to identify as Black, experiences as a Black student, and many more topics. BSA will continue to go to Centennial Elementary every other week on Friday’s to continue to work with the students and staff, and teach more about Black history. We will include more discussions, activities, and games as we continue to get to know the members of this community.

SASE West Regional Conference

By Sandra Vo, Staff Writer & Publisher

Photo by Sandra Vo

At 3:30 a.m., the Regis van whirs to life with barely more energy than its occupants. Five members of the Regis’s Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) are about to head out to the airport, where they will be flying to San Diego to attend the SASE West Regional Conference hosted by University of California San Diego. Although exhausted and running on various amounts of sleep, there is a sense of excitement in the air that in just a few hours, they will be in a different state with weather 60 degrees higher than in Denver. 

Photo courtesy of Sandra Vo

SASE has a reputation as a “career development” club, but there is more than building a resume and learning how to connect to people on LinkedIn. SASE is about connecting with people in real life, getting first hand advice from job recruiters, and also having the time of your life on a trip with the majority of the expenses covered by Regis. At San Diego, the members arrived a full day earlier before the start of the conference, where they power-napped, ate dim sum at the famous San Diego Din Tai Fung, and explored the beach at sunset. 

Photo by Sandra Vo

The West Regional Conference itself was a well-organized and impressively designed event. The SASE team at UCSD worked tirelessly to create t-shirts, stickers, advertise on social media, bring in job recruiters from Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, HRL Laboratories, Illumina, and the Keck Graduate Institute. The result was workshops featuring Q&A’s with UCSD professors, working professionals, networking opportunities, dumpling making, and a tour of the gorgeous UCSD campus. Both breakfast and lunch were provided, with conference attendees eating Einstein bagels and banh mi respectively. 

Photo courtesy of Sandra Vo

Overall, the SASE conference is ideal for people looking to break into the job market as Asian students, people working in STEM/engineering, or even as just a weekend getaway. Requirements to attend the conference only include being an active member of SASE (attending roughly half the meetings) and expressing interest in going to the conference. 

For those interested, please contact regis@saseconnect.org to learn more, and SASE looks forward to seeing you at our conference next year!

Active Minds: An Innovative Mental Health Solution for College Campuses

By: Madelynn Loring, Staff Writer

As we approach the two year anniversary of the first national COVID-19 lock down, it is critical to acknowledge the effect the ongoing pandemic has had on our health, both physically and mentally. While we may know the worst we will face with the physical aspect of the virus, the impact of long stretches and anxieties on our mental health is not yet fully known, though we are certainly feeling the effect. According to the US Census Bureau, reports of depression and anxiety symptoms have increased by over 300% since pre-pandemic times and mental health care units, much like the rest of the healthcare industry, are becoming overwhelmed Even the counseling office of Regis’s OCPD is experiencing an influx of students seeking therapy, resulting in weeks-long wait lists to see a practitioner. 

To address this on campus, a new but familiar group has formed called Active Minds. Active Minds is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing mental health resources and education to students on college campuses. Regis has had an Active Minds chapter in the past, but it was dissolved in 2019. But, in the face of great community need, it has been revived to provide further support to Rangers. When asked about what inspired him to restart Active Minds, president Cooper Pahl answered, “Honestly, because I think it is needed. [The] main goal is to decrease mental health stigma and create a place where self-worth and healing is prioritized, and not just in classrooms but all across campus.” Active Minds provides training for stepping into mental health crises as well as local and national mental health resources. 

Currently, Active Minds is working alongside VAVP, the OCPD, RAs, and other community groups to put on events such as panels on eating disorders and other mental health conditions, self care goody bags, and Lofi Bob Ross event including an evening of de-stressing activities like art. To find more information about these events, visit Active Minds @activeminds_regis on Instagram. Furthermore, if you are interested in getting involved in the work of Active Minds, please reach out to Cooper Pahl at cpahl@regis.edu.

If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, please contact Colorado Crisis Services at 844-493-8255.