As students prepare for challenging courses and upcoming exams, nurturing one’s mental health can be difficult. Luckily, our school is equipped with skilled guidance counselors, one of them being Steph Holmes.
Ms. Holmes ‘06 is a Berkshire alum, and many of her experiences at Berkshire helped guide her toward a wellness-based career. Ms. Holmes understands the uniqueness of navigating friendships in boarding school and shares that boarding school helped her develop good listening skills, which make her an, as she states an “open and approachable person.” Strong friendships and adult mentors who helped her through the challenges of boarding school further inspired her to want to be of service to others.
She shares the progress that counseling, both at Berkshire and beyond, has made over the years in destigmatizing mental health support. When Ms. Holmes was in high school, she recalls that she did not “know anyone that used counseling,” and that if someone went it was more secretive. In today’s society, more students feel comfortable going to the counseling center, and Ms. Holmes shares that, “many students come to the counseling office because they heard about it from their friends.” She included that although she is extremely proud of the progress Berkshire has made, there is still “more to do to reduce the stigma.”
One specific strategy Ms. Holmes names as “one of the most important skills you develop at Berkshire,” is being intentional with time management. Ms. Holmes hears from many Berkshire graduates about how “equipped they feel, compared to their peers who didn’t go to boarding school, to structure their time.” She also stresses how important it is to include “unstructured time,” in your schedule, such as time to rest and hang out with friends. Managing time, she says, goes beyond productivity, emphasizing the importance of rest and well-being.
At places like Berkshire, where your living space is also your workspace, sometimes it can be challenging to separate school time with downtime. Ms. Holmes encourages students to “find activities in your day that bring you a sense of comfort or enjoyment,” and to, “engage in assignments for your well-being, not just for a grade.” Additionally, utilizing spaces like Crawford or the library as a place to do homework can help separate the two sides of boarding life.
Balancing wellness and academics is no easy feat, but at Berkshire, students find not just resources—but a community dedicated to their growth, resilience, and well-being.
