Well-Being at Bates

Our mission is to support students to define what well-being means for them and to take ownership of and action in their well-being journey.

What is Well-Being?

We know that definitions of well-being are culturally defined and unique for each individual and that well-being can be uniquely challenging for college students who have many academic, extracurricular, and social demands that can affect their ability to thrive. Our lived experiences and identities affect the ways that we’ve experienced and cultivated well-being before Bates, the ways that we arrive to Bates, and how we engage with our environment and experience well-being at Bates. In collaboration with students and partners across campus, we’ve developed nine dimensions of well-being that can serve as a framework to think about the ways in which we conceive of and practice our individual well-being on campus. While on campus this may look like:

  • Developing and embracing meaningful and restorative social connections that support you in fostering belonging
  • Fully accessing and finding joy in your Bates experience
  • Identifying and prioritizing what contributes to your own sense of well-being
  • Utilizing community resources, including groups, programs, friends, faculty, staff, and family for support when needed
  • Utilizing mental and medical healthcare when needed 
  • Developing routines and practicing skills that meet your needs and support you
  • Actively engaging with the individuals, communities and world around you, in informed civic action, and responsible stewardship of the wider world 
  • Developing the capacity to manage complexities and discomfort while moving throughout your day — resiliency
  • Finding belonging at Bates
From left to right around table: Korbin Houston '18 of Chicago Topher Castañeda '20, Los Angeles Jesus Carrera '20, Waco, Texas Justin Levine '20, Boca Raton, Fla. Brittany Longsdorf, Multifaith Chaplain Miranda Patilla '19 of Midland, Texas Brittany said: "We were thinking about doing something over break. And we thought, how can we do something with cheese?
Gathering and sharing food over break: Korbin Houston ’18; Topher Castañeda ’20; Jesus Carrera ’20; Justin Levine ’20; Brittany Longsdorf, Multifaith Chaplain; Miranda Patilla ’19.
Studying on picnic table outside of the Roger Bill after their first day of Short Term classes: Nick Holmes, Grace Warder, Nora Finley, and Sophia Thayer. The first day of Short Term is, you might say, a homerun, every member of the Bates community seems to be out and about soaking up the sunshine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Nick Holmes, Grace Warder, Nora Finley, and Sophia Thayer study on a picnic table outside Roger Williams on their first day of Short Term classes, soaking up the sunshine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Dimensions of Well-Being

Below are nine Dimensions of Well-Being created by Bates students. While these dimensions are at times distinct, our well-being in each dimension can affect our well-being in others. Click on each dimension below to explore well-being resources and strategies developed by students.

Academic

Engaging in classwork, learning support, studying, and organization.

Tips from Other Students

  • Work spaces (Ladd Library, PGill, Commons, academic buildings, etc.)
  • Online tools (Degree Audit, Google Calendar)
  • Peers & classmates
Zofia Ahmad '19 of Palo Alto, Calif., student manager, reacts while working on a slideshow presentation with Kiyona Mizuno '18 of San Francisco, student manager, in the Academic Resource Commons. (Theophil Syslo/Bates College)
Zofia Ahmad ’19, student manager, reacts while working on a slideshow presentation with Kiyona Mizuno ’18, student manager, in the Academic Resource Commons. (Theophil Syslo/Bates College)

Environmental

Caring for physical spaces, nature, and our surroundings.

Tips from Other Students

  • Physical spaces on-campus (greenhouse, garden, Lake Andrews/The Puddle, the Historic Quad, open green spaces)
  • Physical spaces off-campus (Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, Range Pond)
  • Weather (take advantage of sunny, warm days!)
  • Physical activity (skiing, running, biking, hiking)
  • Friends
  • Doing your part (recycle, plant a tree, reusable containers)
  • Being outside (sitting, studying)
Alice Doughty lectures from Range Pond State Park during her Lost Maine Beaches class on May 7, 2018. Students hiked trails, observed glacial landforms, took samples as well as sieve and build a delta on the beach.
Alice Doughty lectures from Range Pond State Park during her Lost Maine Beaches class. Students hiked trails, observed glacial landforms, took samples as well as sieve and build a delta on the beach.

Financial

Attending to employment, money management, and aid.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • BLC Mutual Aid
  • Off-campus employment
  • Family & support network
Michelle Pham ‘15 of Google and Kelsey Freedman ‘15 of HubSpot talk about navigating a career in the technology industry. Students who identify as people of color or women may find this discussion particularly helpful as Michelle and Kelsey share their own experiences in the industry and their insights on how best to identify opportunities and put your liberal arts education to good use in a rewarding career!. Hannah Goldberg '16 also of HubSpot (in black jacket and jeans) joins Kelsey Freedman '15 (in red sweater) from HubSpot, and Michelle Pham '15 from Google.
Michelle Pham ‘15 of Google and Kelsey Freedman ‘15 and Hannah Goldberg ’16 of HubSpot share with current students about navigating a career in the technology industry in the OIE.

Mental

Taking care of your mind.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Relationships (friends, peers, mentors, family, roommates)
  • Mindfulness practices (yoga, Headspace, meditation)
  • Off-campus (Riverwalk, off-campus house, home)
  • Physical spaces on-campus (Bates Art Museum, Commons, Olin practice rooms)
  • Animals (pets, ESAs)
  • Self care practices (routines, alone time, sleep, writing in diary)
  • Hobbies (exercising, reading, music)
  • Therapy (off-campus)
  • Food
  • Nature
  • Organizational Tools (Notion, Google Calendar, planning, commitments)
First-years Andrew Lyle, Nina Flynn, and Ben Schmandt take a study break in Memorial Commons with Arya, a 7-month-old golden retriever. The Office of Campus Life sponsored the finals-week playtime; the pups came from the Maine Golden Retriever Club. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
First-years Andrew Lyle, Nina Flynn, and Ben Schmandt take a finals week study break in Memorial Commons with Arya, a 7-month-old golden retriever. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Occupational

Finding purpose in work.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Off-campus employment & volunteer opportunities
  • Handshake & Email listservs/job postings
  • LinkedIn
From left, Robert Ibarra '17, a psychology major from Los Angeles; Dana Professor of Chemistry Glen Lawson; Yessenia Saucedo '16, a politics major from Oakland, Calif.; and Associate Professor of Spanish Claudia Aburto Guzmán, enjoy a moment of levity in a Dana Chemistry lab as they use heat to extract copper metal from ore. Why are they laughing? Ibarra had difficulty igniting the fire, and when he succeeded, he registered surprise, much like humans must have responded when they first realized they could reproduce fire, Lawson observed. "It was great to be able to laugh in a space that - at least for me - is so intimidating," says humanist Aburto Guzmán. This moment occurred on the second day of a new interdisciplinary Short Term course titled "Intersection of Biomedicine and Human Rights: The Case of the Chilean Mining Experience," co-taught by Lawson and Aburto Guzmán.
From left, Robert Ibarra ’17; Dana Professor of Chemistry Glen Lawson; Yessenia Saucedo ’16; and Associate Professor of Spanish Claudia Aburto Guzmán, enjoy a moment of levity in a Dana Chemistry lab as they use heat to extract copper metal from ore in the Short Term course “Intersection of Biomedicine and Human Rights: The Case of the Chilean Mining Experience.” “It was great to be able to laugh in a space that – at least for me – is so intimidating,” says humanist Aburto Guzmán.

Physical

Taking care of your body.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Local healthcare (CMMC, St. Mary’s, Maine Family Planning)
  • Physical spaces on campus (Ronj, Den, dorms, green space, The Puddle)
  • Physical Spaces off campus (Riverwalk, Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, outdoors/nature)
  • Self resources and practices: running, walking, exercise, rest, sleep hygiene 
Bates women's track and field team hosts the Maine State Meet on February 2, 2018.
The Bates women’s track and field team hosts the Maine State Meet.

Relational

Growing in and navigating our relationships of all kinds.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Physical spaces (Commons, Ronj, Grey Cage, home/Houses, Ladd Library, Lewiston, outdoors)
  • Relationships (friends, peers, family, classmates)
  • Time with dogs or pets
  • Alone time
  • Activities (music w/ others, extracurricular, intramural)
Big wet snowflakes fall on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. After a day indoors, three friends decided they needed some outdoor time, so the snowfall brought them onto the historic Quad with a slack line. In orange jacket: Sally Porter '21 of Washington, D.C.
After a day indoors, three friends decided they needed some outdoor time, so the snowfall brought them onto the historic Quad with a slack line. In orange jacket: Sally Porter ’21.

Social

Connecting with community and engaging in activities.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Physical spaces (Commons, Ronj, Grey Cage, halls/houses, Ladd Library, Lewiston, outdoors)
  • Events & activities (music w/ others, extracurricular, intramural)
Emily Bowen '19 of Pasadena, Calif., Afia Sekyere '19 of Tampa, Florida, Yeymi Rivas '19 of Richmond Calif., and Kayla Jackson '19 of Metuchen, N.J., pose for a portrait during the annual OIE Banquet: A Royal Affair, in Memorial Commons on April 8, 2019.
Emily Bowen ’’19, Afia Sekyere ’’19, Yeymi Rivas ’’19, and Kayla Jackson ‘’19 pose for a portrait during the annual OIE Banquet: A Royal Affair, in Memorial Commons.

Spiritual

Finding meaning through faith, religiosity, and spiritual community.

Bates Offices & Programs

Tips from Other Students

  • Physical spaces (Gomes Chapel, nature, prayer rooms)
  • Peer support
  • Meditation, self-reflection, praying
  • Religious services (off-campus)
The Peter J. Gomes Chapel, 275 College Street, seen on February 14, 2019.
The Peter J. Gomes Chapel, 275 College Street.