Case Study: From the Awkward Zone to A Culture of Care
THE CLIENT
Valparaiso University is a private Lutheran university in Valparaiso, Indiana, with over 3100 students.
The university, fondly nicknamed “Valpo,” prides itself on its “bright, energetic spirit that attracts students who want to make a difference in this world.”
They feel that it is their responsibility to train the whole student - this includes skills of humanity and care.
THE PROBLEM
Valparaiso was looking for ways to bring a caring culture to their student population to draw in more students and retain the ones that are currently on campus. Amidst a nation-wide mental health crisis and growing isolation, anxieties, and depression on college campuses, the university wanted to set itself apart and tackle the problem at the root.
When we surveyed the students, faculty, staff, and peer leaders, the campus administration realized exactly how urgent the need for on-campus care was.
“I mean, when Jen shared that the vast majority of students here claimed that they could tell when somebody was struggling, and then the same vast majority of students said that when they’re struggling no one’s paying attention to it, that’s a really telling statistic,” recalled Pr. James Wetzstein, Director of the Peer Minister program on campus, “So we’re hoping that we can correct that.”
How is it possible that so many students felt able to see and empathize with others in pain, and yet so little felt seen when they struggled themselves?
The answer lay in the students’ aggregated survey data. The #1 barrier to caring was “It’s awkward: I don’t know what to say or do, so I avoid it.”
It’s a phenomenon called the Empathy-Action Gap: these students cared, but they were stuck in the Awkward Zone.
What the campus needed was the skills, tools, and strategies to show up and care. Five on-campus groups emerged in need of training:
First-year students were entering a completely new on-campus environment, an isolating experience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and needed extra support navigating new social connections.
Peer Ministers at Valparaiso serve as a liaison in all dormitories on campus and also in the Greek Life houses. They were looking to be more of a resource for students who are struggling on many levels with friends, grades, and life in general.
Resident Assistants were looking for deeper ways to support and care for the students beyond administrative duties, learning how to deal with situations as they arise with confidence and not be awkward.
Staff and Faculty were looking for ways to further support both each other and the students. There was a greater need for student support than ever before, and they were looking for tools and resources to know what to say and do.
Athletic Department was looking for team bonding activities to help teams going through extreme change.
SOLUTIONS
In September 2021, we delivered a two-day immersive training at Valparaiso University to first-year students, Peer Ministers, sports teams, faculty, and staff.
All of Inspiring Comfort programs follow a 4 Step Process to cultivating care and connection:
Assess: First-year students, faculty and staff, Peer Ministers, Resident Assistants, and sports teams completed pre-surveys and personal assessments prior to training, and received both aggregated data for the campus and each individual group, as well as Personal Comfort Profile’s highlighting each individual’s care strengths and weaknesses.
Inform: A keynote address, given by Jen Marr, was delivered to first-year students, Peer Ministers, and faculty/staff.
Keynote to 600 first-year students at Valparaiso University.
Jen Marr training Valparaiso faculty and staff.
3. Equip: Workshops and trainings including:
90 Minute Faculty & Staff Training
Team Bonding Workshop for the Valparaiso softball team and coaches
“Breaking Through the Awkward Zone” Workshops for 650 first-year students, co-led by the newly certified on-campus Peer Ministers.
4. Cultivate: 14 Peer Ministers were certified to cultivate a culture of care on campus in the long-term. The Directors of the Peer Minister program intend to incorporate comfort training into their hiring process in the future, and continue to certify Peer Ministers every year.
A member of the Valpo softball team in our Team Connections Workshop.
A Valpo Peer Leader advises a fellow student.
Peer Ministers in training for their certifications.
Valparaiso is committed to continuing and expanding upon the program each year, with another full-campus training lined up in Fall of 2022.
The impact of the Valparaiso’s Comfort U program has already been long-lasting. Seven months after the training, a trained Valparaiso student reached out to thank Jen after using the skills she learned to reach out and comfort another student. “A situation that I thought might pull me in too deep to have time for ended up being a well-needed night with others...I guess sometimes it is just as easy as showing someone you care.”
TESTIMONIALS
“What’s great for my program is that Inspiring Comfort really fits into the curriculum that we had for this semester. So our curriculum is based around empathy and dialogue, so it fits in beautifully with Jen’s presentation and with her whole philosophy and what it actually does is give students an active way to think about empathy.”
-Dr. Liza Jennings, Director of Valparaiso Core Program
“Self-care is a buzzword these days, but self-care isn’t enough — we need a community of care.
This program, even if you do just a little bit, it’s the foundation to start building that culture on campus. The more you do, the more time you spend with it, the more it grows. It’s so worth the investment in this work because I think the results are gonna be fantastic.”
- Pr. Kate Museus Dabay, Co-Director of Valparaiso Peer Minister Program
“The notion of planting seeds and building a common language — I think the thing that excites me the most about this is the prospect of repeating this with every incoming first year class, so that now we’ve got a campus-wide set of common perspectives. The fact that we were able to bring this skill-set to Peer Ministers, and to the Resident Assistants, puts into the residence halls a group of people with a common language and a common experience that can be there for students who are struggling.”
-Pr. James Wetzstein, Co-Director of Valparaiso Peer Minister Program
Want a campus that shows up? Learn more about Comfort U programming here.