My name is Claire, and I’m a second-year Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia. I attended Arizona School for the Arts (ASA) for high school where I worked to broaden access to mental health and wellness resources for students at my school, within my community, and across the state. Although mental health is something that is at the forefront of many students’ lives in today’s world, many schools do not have the resources or funding that their students need. It's my mission to inform, connect, and embolden students through The Wellness Trail.

 

The Wellness Trail originated as a component of the wellness campaign I initiated within ASA in spring of 2019. Since then, I've realized that I want this curriculum to extend beyond the walls of just ASA. This curriculum is now accessible for school districts across the nation to implement, free of charge and with all of the resources provided.

 

The goal of The Wellness Trail is to help students develop strong wellness habits that they can carry with them into their adult lives through meaningful, inspiring peer experiences. The curriculum lasts six days and is focused on Digital, Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, and Social Wellness. Since the curriculum is peer-led, it is best-suited for districts that have a connected middle and high school experience because the high schoolers teach the lessons to the middle schoolers. 

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by filling out the form below. 

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What is Claire currently up to?

 

In addition to studying Systems Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship as a second-year at the University of Virginia, Claire volunteers with a couple of on-Grounds organizations at UVA to promote wellbeing. She serves as the secretary of If You're Reading This, a student organization dedicated to improving student mental health and that shares letters from the UVA community about overcoming personal and mental health-related challenges. She also promotes wellbeing of Rodman engineering scholars as Wellness Chair of Rodman Council. In 2021, she completed Mindfulness First’s “Teaching Mindfulness” training course and is certified to teach mindfulness strategies and tools.