HELPING COLLEGE FRESHMEN ADJUST TO A NEW WAY OF LIFE

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) “It takes time. College-age students are very uncomfortable talking with a school staff member about troubles they may have never shared with anyone. With time, though, their fears and apprehensions drop away and together we can make progress toward improving their personal and academic lives,” says Art Institute of California – Inland Empire’s student counselor Lawanda Hall.

Campus President Byron Chung says, “The primary mission, focus and ultimate goal of The Art Institute is to assist students toward the successful achievement of a satisfying creative career in their chosen field.”

Chung adds, “Lawanda Hall’s skills as a licensed professional counselor helps our students meet life’s pressures inside and outside the classroom.”

“I’m excited,” Hall says. “I’ve counseled students for about seven years and I love helping them. I enjoy meeting and working with young people every single day.” Hall adds, “I am blessed to be able to help students work through issues that might have otherwise stopped them in their tracks.”

A licensed professional counselor, and Behavioral Health Provider, Hall has amassed valued experience working with college students, first as a director of disability services at Nashville, Tennessee’s Lipscomb University, then as a member of the faculty.

In the classroom Hall taught various aspects of abnormal psychology including such topics as bi-polar disorder, anxiety and personality disorders, depression and schizophrenia.

For nearly three years she headed her own private practice in Nashville aiding individuals, couples and families, working through such common, but potentially debilitating, issues as abuse, neglect, parenting, career goals, addiction, marriage and divorce.

Hall then was hired by Argosy University Nashville as assistant director of clinical training. In this capacity she coordinated all aspects of student development in the Master of Arts in Professional Counseling program.

In mid August, Hall and her husband moved to California. The administration of The Art Institute, with its rapidly growing student population, realized it was time to bring in a full-time student counselor, and that person is Lawanda Hall.

“There is a great deal for college students to deal with outside the classroom,” she says. “Adjustment to this new way of life, especially for freshman, is a real challenge. We conduct four quarterly workshops that explore what students are feeling and having to deal with.

“The first workshop covers stress and anxiety while the second will deal with healthy relationships. The third examines the best ways to balance school and play in personal lives. Our fourth workshop will center on depression and continuing anxiety issues. Each session runs about a half-hour to 45 minutes.”

These workshops serve additional issues as well. Hall explains, “Group workshops are the ideal setting for students who aren’t yet comfortable in one-on-one counseling sessions, but could really use the help. And, too, there may well be students who may not need individual work, but could benefit from sessions with their peers.”

At The Art Institute, Hall will serve as part of the student affairs team to promote events that foster health student development.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, in San Bernardino, offers degrees in creative careers such as Graphic Design, Interior Design, Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, Web Design, Interactive Media, Media Arts & Animation and Game Art & Design.

It’s not too late to attend The Art Institute. Winter Quarter begins January 7, with classes offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students. For details, or a tour of the campus, call (909) 915-2100, or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

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The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 35 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.