How Can We Help?

November 2, 2020

Dear Spelman Students,

In front of Sister’s Chapel, the Zelkovia trees are shedding their leaves, a sure sign that fall is in full swing and the end of the semester is fast approaching. I know that every student who is reading this note agrees that this has been one tough semester.

When we gather on Zoom calls, typically, I ask, "How’s everybody doing?" Inevitably, many of you tell me that you are stressed, anxious and overwhelmed. You write me and, as did Patience Stuckey, a first-year student, tell me that Spelman is an experience and first years have been robbed of that experience. Or, as I heard from Nia Curry, C’2023, you only had six or seven months of being on campus in their first year.

When I talk to your parents, I learn how difficult it has been for families who are also bearing the brunt of this global health crisis. By now, most of us know someone who has been touched by this illness that refuses to go away.

I write now to tell you that we understand. We understand and we have been thinking hard about how the College can be helpful. I have listed below some ways that are available and some new initiatives that Spelman has added to support you, academically and emotionally.

In an earlier message, I shared with you how we are beginning to think about the spring, summer and fall of 2021. We will keep you updated about that path forward. Until then, below are some ways that the College is prepared to lend a hand.

Sincerely,

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Need assistance with a course?

1. Attend your professor’s office hours. Office hours are a great resource for helping you succeed in your courses. Take advantage of the time your professor has reserved for you to ask questions, work problems and review topics.

2. Regularly engage with your first-year study group. If you are a first-year student, your study group lead is a dedicated source of course support. If you have any questions
about your first-year study group, please contact Brandi Reese at brandi.reese@spelman.edu.

3. Seek virtual academic support. Academic assistance and tutoring are available through nine virtual centers and programs. For Fall 2020 virtual academic support schedules, self-enroll in the Student Success Program Moodle course.

4. Contact Student Success Program. The Student Success Program will assist you in identifying academic support for your courses. To get assistance with a course or meet with an academic coach, please email ssp@spelman.edu for a response within one business day.

Need help reaching a faculty member?

If you are unable to reach your faculty member via email or phone, please contact your class dean for assistance.

Need advising assistance?

First year students have been assigned a first-year advisor. Your advisor’s name is posted in your DegreeWorks audit and in the Spelman ARCH. Both can be accessed via mySpelman. Major advisors are also listed in DegreeWorks and the Spelman ARCH.

If you have difficulty reaching either your first-year advisor or major advisor, please contact your class dean.

Dean Baxter, First Year Dean – gbaxter@spelman.edu
Dean Neely, Sophomore and Junior Dean – dneely@spelman.edu
Dean Pedescleaux, Senior Dean – dpedescl@spelman.edu
Stacy Washington, Special Academic Retention Advisor – swashi37@spelman.edu

Looking for a job, internship, graduate school or career counseling?

The Office of Career Planning and Development offers virtual counseling, appointments, recruitment and student engagement events, job postings, and other ways to provide you with information and resources to empower your career success. Please visit the office’s web presence on Spelman.edu for more information.

Feeling lonely and overwhelmed?

Building remote communities of healthy relationships, self-care measures and engaging in counseling can help decrease loneliness, stress and feeling overwhelmed.

Holistic self-care includes practicing:

Physical Self-Care: Determine a schedule to sleep at least eight hours a day, incorporate physical activity and pay attention to your nourishment.
Emotional and Spiritual Self-Care: Actively practice being optimistic such as establishing a personal gratitude log, setting achievable goals, honoring, and making time for your values, being still, meditating, refraining from the media, and seeking counseling support.
Social Self-Care: Know your boundaries, learn to say "no," and determine different and healthier ways to remain socially connected, while practicing physical distancing. For additional self-care tools, please visit the Counseling Center web presence for Self-Help Resources

The Counseling Center provides virtual services.

Self-care measures may always not work for everyone or for all situations. Reaching out for professional counseling support is the next step. The Counseling Center team can guide you in this process. Contact the Counseling Center via 404-270-5293, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., to schedule an appointment or ask to speak with a clinician. Also, our therapists can assist in locating a community-based therapist in your area of residence. For more information, please visit the Counseling Center web presence.

Acknowledging the unprecedented period, we are now living in, there are times when feelings of paralyzing loneliness or being completely overwhelmed may erupt, leading to a mental health crisis. If you or someone you know experience an emergency with the need for immediate assistance, please get help.

Here are some support resources:

Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or go to the nearest emergency room.
Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); en Español, 1-888-628-9454. This resource is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in their national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing or have hearing loss, can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.
Contact the Crisis Text Line or text "HELLO" to 741741. The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S. This resource serves anyone, in any type of crisis, connecting them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.