Penn State DuBois library helps students de-stress before finals week

DuBOIS, Pa. – The week leading up to finals week can be a stressful time for students at any higher education campus. To help students at Penn State, University Libraries across many of Penn State’s campuses, including Penn State DuBois, offered many stress-reducing activities to help students relax as they prepared for final exams and end-of-semester projects.

Known as De-Stress Fest, five branch libraries at University Park and 10 libraries at commonwealth campuses took part in pre-finals week activities, offering students snacks, meals, games, art therapy and other stress-management events.

“The end of the semester can be a very stressful time for students,” said Emily Zimmerman, reference and instruction librarian at the Penn State DuBois campus library. “Along with other members of our campus, such as our counseling services, we aimed to bring a variety of events to students to help them relax and take some of the stress away. Taking that stress away can help them better prepare for finals and finish the semester on the highest note possible.”

Last week there was at least one event each day that was part of De-Stress Fest. It began on Monday when students had the opportunity to get an item to help them focus on the task at hand, fidget spinners. Many of the spinners were made by the Idea Lab at the North Central Pennsylvania (NCPA) LaunchBox powered by Penn State DuBois. The goal with the spinners is to give students an item that helps them focus on the task they are trying to complete instead of getting distracted by other things happening around them.

Tuesday’s event allowed students to relax, paint and plant from an all-in-one event. Paint and plants let students design and paint their own unique ideas on a plant pot and then plant a succulent plant in their pot as well. The event also featured Hayden Kristal, a Colorado-based deaf queer activist and stand-up comedian, who gave a fun performance that was also educational, with the sharing of information on being an activist for the segments of society including in normal performances by Kristal.

One of the most popular events each semester took place on Wednesday when therapy dogs visited the PAW Center. The furry friends provided comfort and support to help students relax and recharge. Bubble tea was also available to give students a great refreshment as well.

Thursday’s event gave students another creative outlet to reduce stress when rock painting was offered in the library. Students got to relax, connect, have fun and destress while creating artwork on rocks of various sizes. Many students took advantage of this event to create rock art for someone special in their life, such as mothers by making a gift for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday.

The final event of De-Stress Fest at Penn State DuBois for the spring 2024 semester took place on Friday when the library had finals week prep packs ready for students to pick up when they came in to study or finish assignments they needed to complete before the end of the semester. The prep packs were full of everything students could need throughout the weekend to get prepared for finals.

“Stressing over final projects and final exams is not something that is beneficial for anyone,” said Zimmerman. “With these events, our goal is to positively impact our students to help them have an easier time with the end of the semester rush.”