Healthy Relationships Month co-chairs Sakina Maud, an ACES peer health educator, and Jacob Martin, a men’s engagement ambassador, both from the Center for Student Wellness, welcome everyone and give some background on the awareness month.

February gives us the opportunity to reflect on the connections we have in our lives. As planning co-chairs for this month’s events and leaders in the Center for Student Wellness, we hope to emphasize how important it is to have a campus community that values healthy relationships and recognizes when unhealthy relationship traits need to be addressed. This month we have planned events that will help students strengthen healthy characteristics in their relationships, both with others and within themselves.

Healthy Relationships Month is incredibly important to me (Sakina) because I have experienced just how quickly you can lose yourself in an unhealthy relationship. I want to help students strengthen the connections they have so that they never feel alone. This month is also important to me (Jacob) because the culture surrounding queer relationships has never been described as healthy and I would love to see how this month can help reorient that idea.

We want students to recognize how important it is to have healthy connections with people in their life and how attainable these connections are. It’s important to us that students are reminded that a healthy relationship starts with how you view and treat yourself and this month will hopefully give students the opportunity to practice some self-love.

This year we chose the theme #UnbreakableBonds as a reminder that our lives are richest when we share experiences and close connections with others. We want to help provide students with the building blocks for a healthy relationship that can grow to become (or stay!) an unbreakable bond.

We are so excited for all that is to come this month and we have worked hard to plan events that are not only enjoyable but are also geared towards educating students on what a healthy relationship looks like. Our events were planned with the goal of helping students strengthen their bonds with others and with themselves. Upcoming events include:

More information will be posted about each event and topics related to healthy relationships online through our Instagram account. Please visit our Healthy Relationships Month website to register to attend our events.