Hamin Park

Wellness room supervisor Lee-Lin Finkbeiner points towards the sign that indicates when the room was established. “SGA got a [TJ Partnership fund], and the students designed this room,” Finkbeiner said. “I make sure the kids are safe and doing okay.”

Sometimes, students need a quiet place during the school day, especially when the stress piles up and noises in classrooms become too much to manage. To support those students, the wellness room helps them calm down, regain control of their emotions and return to their class when they are ready. The wellness room is unlike the counselors’ offices and the College and Career Center. 

The wellness room was created by officers of the Student Government Association (SGA) in 2021 to design a space where students could rest. They initiated the idea, gathered support and designed the room.

Supervisor Lee-Lin Finkbeiner oversees the wellness room. Her role is to monitor the space, ensure students are safe and notify the clinic if a student needs additional support. 

“We let kids come here, and then settle for 15 or 20 minutes and then go back to the classroom,” Finkbeiner said. 

The wellness room operates with clear guidelines so it stays as a supportive space rather than a place to skip classes. 

“Students must have the permission of  the counselors or social workers, clinical teams or their to come,” Finkbeiner said. “They cannot just come.”

Having permission from staff members ensures that the room is used appropriately and teachers are aware of where students are. 

“A lot of them come here to cry,” Finkbeiner said. “[Others] just need to be quiet with lights off and their eyes closed. Sometimes when there’s testing like finals, more kids come [to the wellness room].”

The reason students come to the wellness room differs from person to person, but many of them show up because they are experiencing academic exhaustion either mentally or physically. However, this year, the wellness room’s availability got shortened to two days a week, making it difficult for students to come and rest.

“This year, I’m here only two days a week,” Finkbeiner said. “Last year, it was three days, and before, it was four days.” 

Despite the room’s availability being shortened, the wellness room continues to offer students a quiet environment where they can take a break and return to class feeling refreshed. Its structure, guidelines and consoling environment ensures the wellness room can function every day. 

“When they leave [the wellness room], they will be better than when they come in,” Finkbeiner said.