Imagine being alone. Feeling like you have no on to talk to. According to Chadron State College’s Behavior Intervention Team, 45 percent of college students have felt hopeless. Dr. Cynthia Taylor encounters this hopelessness every day. And she’s here to help.

Studies show that 30 percent of students have problems with their school work due to a mental health issue. These issues can range from depression to anxiety, from ADHD to self-esteem issues, to just feeling like no one cares. Dr. Taylor, a Mental Health Therapist at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., specializes in depression, anxiety, self-esteem, grief and adjustment issues.

“This is my calling,” she said when asked about her motivation for such a rigorous field. “To witness the changes that take place in my clients’ lives is what gives me joy!”

“Ever since she was a little girl, she was always so humble and helpful to other kids. She always wanted to make them feel like they were loved and enough.” Dr. Limmie Townsend said when asked about her long-time friendship with Dr. Taylor. “She’s always had a delightful personality and a loving spirit.”

Dr. Taylor grew up in Chicago Ill., going to church every Sunday and during the week. As the pastor’s daughter, she saw the humanity in others, the brokenness and vulnerability. Now the First Lady of her late-father’s church, Greater Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, she has a helping hand in the sanctuary and in the community. Dr. Taylor is open about her relationship with God and how he provides peace in such a demanding field of work. “I know I can carry my concerns, thoughts and requests to the Lord…he has not failed me yet! Prayer is something that I do every day and all day!”

A member of the American Association of Christian Counselors and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Dr. Taylor fights for the wellness of residences of the Chicagoland area. Although she caters to people of all ethnicities, to lessen the stigma and emphasize the importance of mental health in the African American communities is a major factor in her motivation.

According to Mental Health America, adult black or African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report serious psychological distress than adult whites. “Without mental health we cannot be healthy. Any part of the body, including the brain, can get sick.” Dr. Taylor is passionate about helping her clients and students achieved health from a holistic perspective.

When asked about the effects of mental illnesses on the social and academic performances of students, Dr. Taylor said, “Mental health issues have consistently increased over time in college students therefore causing challenges and stressors that impacts them socially and academically. The first year of college, students are faced with a rollercoaster of emotional changes that are often correlated to the stress caused by transitioning to college life.” However, Dr. Taylor suggests that receiving treatment; counseling and if necessary medication, can assist with a better college experience and mental health outcome.

Studies show that a major part of wellness as a whole is self-care. This may include acts such as painting, keeping a journal, praising yourself when needed, even just taking a hot bath. When asked about her methods of self-care after a stressful day, Dr. Taylor replied, “Date nights with my husband, family time and vacationing, and just plain old “me” time by going to the spa, for manicures and pedicures, various types of massages to lessen the likelihood of burnout and relaxing at home is how I stay grounded.”

Mental health is an aspect of overall health that is severely under-estimated. According to Dr. Taylor and many other mental health therapists and physicians, without proper treatment, mental health conditions can worsen and make it hard to live and function from day to day. However, there is hope, and people like Dr. Taylor are here to help you live whole and achieve the most in your life.

I’m sitting at the Warren Hood Library on the campus of Belhaven University. Like all libraries, this one is quaint and peaceful. I chose to sit at my favorite section in the very back of the first floor. There are three groups of working stations, all complimented with two desks on each side.

I enjoy sitting at the last one. My desk is made of dark brown wood with a shelf propped on the back of the desk. There are two privacy pieces, on which the left one is carved with scratches that may have been made by a wooden pencil sometime in the past.

The atmosphere here is calm and soothing. It’s quiet enough to concentrate, but loud enough not to get lost in your thoughts. I can hear chatter from the workers at the front desk accompanying students. I can also hear the functioning printers and copiers in the distance. There is a faint sound of keyboard keys tapping.

However, it doesn’t sound like the keyboard keys of a laptop, but the “old fashioned” keys that make slightly harsh sounds when tapped on, indicating that one of the students are using the desktop computers provided by the library in the front.

I can smell old books and dust, a smell I find comfort in. I can also smell the citrus green tea I purchased at the Shoebird Cafe in the Student Center. To the left of me are a set of ten or more bookcases, with what seems like thousands of books on them.

The colors of the books range from brown, to red, to various shades of blue and green. Some have been worn by time, indicated by the numerous tears of the fabric on the top and bottom corners of the books. Some have writing of gold ink on the side. and some have silver. On the side of the bookcases, there are arranged numbers and letters, presumably for location purposes. Some books about law, others about nature, and others about mathematics.

Where do you like to spend your quiet time?

College students would rather study than work-study.

Studies show that in 2015, 43 percent of full-time college students were employed, ten percent of them working 35 hours or more. 78 percent of part-time college students were employed, 45 percent working 35 hours or more.

With college tuition constantly on the rise, students are having to find jobs to take care of all of their financial needs, or even just extra cares they have.

Belhaven University senior, Jane Young, expressed her views about obtaining a job with college work study. “It proved to be a little difficult because most of the on-campus jobs either were already taken or didn’t really help build my resume in a way.”

Some students feel that finding a job with campus work study can be difficult due to the lack of positions, and the jobs that help build resumes for later careers are already taken by a select few students. “None of them would work with my schedule, um, to align with my social work classes and my social work internship. So working with work study was difficult.”

When asked about the benefits of getting involved with work study, Social Work senior, Joy Watts, said, “It’s not difficult to find one, but it doesn’t pay to have one.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, with an average award of $2,649, work-study jobs are not enough to cover the needs of students. Some find it more beneficial to get a part-time job.

So, what way can we make sure that college students’ needs are met without causing them to be overwhelmed with responsibilities?

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_ssa.pdfhttps://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-06-27/choose-between-a-federal-work-study-job-and-a-part-time-job-in-college