NINA BANKS
campus editor
nina.banks@my.tccd.edu
SE Campus hosted an event Feb. 14 for students to embrace their relationships with themselves.
Healthy Relationships was created by SE counselor Brandi Nichols, and was the first year the event was hosted.
“I have just been on the counseling team for one year this month, and my task was to create awareness for the counseling program and to organize events,” Nichols said. “So we brainstormed and tried to get people here with the music and the snacks.”
Though Valentine’s Day is a holiday that primarily celebrates romantic relationships Nichols believes that nurturing the relationship with yourself is most important.
“I think we forget a lot sometimes that a lot of what we’re seeking in others is what we don’t feel like we have in ourselves,” Nichols said. “So if we are working on you then you bring you into your relationship.”
As music played throughout ESED, students gathered to snack on candies, drink sparkling cider and decorate crafts. SE student Benedict Aiwonegbe accompanied his valentine to the event.
“She wanted me to make roses with her, and I thought it was really fun and cute to just come along and do it with her,” Aiwonegbe said.
SE student Robyn Henking appreciated how the event gave her downtime to relax between classes.
“I think it’s nice being able to sit down and just create stuff,” Henking said. “Just take a break from your classes real quick to do this. It’s nice.”
Despite the emphasis on romance, SE student Gia Vasquez believed having a valentine is not a prerequisite to celebrate the holiday.
“It’s pretty cool to just celebrate it with your friends,” Vasquez said. “I think most of the time people don’t see themselves as the person they should love. Like they need a relationship rather than having a relationship with themselves.”
Aiwonegbe hopes to see more events such as this in the future.
“It gathers the students around for us to see the students we go to school with and communicate with them more,” Aiwonegbe said. “So yeah, it’s a good concept for TCC to keep going.”
Through events such as these, he hopes students can reexamine their own relationships.
“I would think that it is beneficial because some people are in relationships and don’t know the red flags,” Aiwonegbe said. “So this event will help them see red flags, and know whether they are in a healthy relationship or not”
Nichols hoped students understand that they have resources at TCC to help them better understand themselves and their relationships.
“Knowing that we are here to support them and that they can help themselves,” Nichols said. “We have the resources available, and it really is just about getting to know people. Knowing that you have us to help,but also each other, I think it’s just the community of it all.”
