'Cram Jam' event helps reduces student stress before exams at Lehigh Valley

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – As Penn State Lehigh Valley students geared up for end of semester exams, a new event helped them relax, unwind, and socialize.

Cram Jam, a weeklong event fully planned and executed by biobehavioral health (BBH) students in BBH 416: Health and Promotion, was designed to help reduce student stress and promote well-being during a particularly demanding time in the semester. The week’s schedule included visits from therapy dogs, relaxation activities like bubble blowing and coloring pinwheels; board games, Glow-Ga (yoga class held in the dark), and the culminating event — the grand reveal of a Tape Art mural that the campus community contributed to throughout the week.

Samantha Beebe, biobehavioral health program coordinator and associate teaching professor, teaches BBH 416, a culminating, application-based course in the BBH program.

“This course is designed to answer the question ‘How can we help people help themselves towards better health?’ Students begin the course with an assessment of the target population, then use that information to design, implement, and evaluate a health promotion program. They apply the skills and knowledge they’ve built throughout the program,” said Beebe.

For Cram Jam, students chose the Penn State Lehigh Valley campus community as their target population and researched each proposed activity to determine its effectiveness in reducing stress. Additionally, the students identified and consulted relevant on- and off-campus partners including the school nurse, mental health professionals, and outside vendors for various aspects of the event.

The class was also responsible for creating an event budget to present to Anibal Bernal-Torres, chief academic officer at Penn State Lehigh Valley, along with marketing and promoting the event.

“They carried this idea from conception through completion,” said Beebe. “Early in the course, we explored different leadership styles and individual strengths. This project gave students the chance to put those skills into practice in the same way they would in a professional setting. It was incredibly valuable.”

The event also fostered collaboration across disciplines. BBH students partnered with ART 175N: Intersection Between Art and Psychology, taught by Liz Flaherty, associate teaching professor of art history and honors program coordinator.

“We wanted engagement with students across disciplines,” said Beebe. “The art students created incredible pieces that inspired our students. It was a meaningful and mutually beneficial partnership.”

Beebe suggested the Tape Art mural after seeing its effectiveness on patients in a children’s hospital where she previously worked.

“Patients requested painter’s tape to create these tape art murals in their rooms. It helped them engage with their space and feel more in control, rather than confined,” she said. “The Tape Art mural was really the underlying thread through the whole week — it gave students, staff, and faculty a shared creative space to pause, connect, and recharge. We wanted to celebrate art as a powerful tool for easing the stress of final exams — building social connections, reducing stress and anxiety, and strengthening community engagement in support of mental health and overall well‑being.”

The finished piece was unveiled on Thursday following remarks from Torres.

Jana Elarousy, a senior BBH major, said the class chose to focus on executing an event for the end of the semester because so much research has been done on college students’ stress levels at this time of year.

“We did it at a good time — close enough to the end of the semester so students could attend many of the events,” she said. “Students are incredibly overwhelmed at this time of year. I’d even like to see a Cram Jam at midterms."

The student response was overwhelmingly positive.

“Forty students participated in the board game competition, and we ran out of space in the Glow-Ga class,” Beebe said. “I think students appreciated that it was a very nice, fluid event — they could come and go as they wanted, or they could come and stay. Some students came in for the board games and stayed for two hours.”

Face-to-face networking and participating in classic pastimes like working on a jigsaw puzzle or blowing bubbles were two huge draws for students.

“One person said they liked playing the board games and just sitting around with different people,” said Cora Oberly, a senior BBH major. “They liked the analog aspect. I didn’t see anyone with a phone. I think this type of event is needed at the end of the semester — it filled a space that was lacking. There are plenty of other events happening on campus, but nothing like this, with activities like bubbles, tape art, and games.”

Ruthanne Troutman, a senior BBH student, said her professor in another BBH course created a Cram Jam reflection assignment.

“Many said they didn’t expect it to be as fun as it was," Troutman said. "It relieved their stress, they could come in and do the activities without having to think about them, and they felt better afterwards. A lot of them said they would take some of these things, like the board games, and do them at home. Many said they were surprised at how much better they felt.”

Daria Krout, a junior BBH major, said events like Cram Jam help students manage their stress during final exams but the exercises are helpful anytime.

“The bubble blowing activity actually tricks the brain into doing a deep breathing exercise,” she said. “I think this event gave students stress-reducing strategies they can use in the future.”

Beebe said she hopes Cram Jam will become an annual spring tradition.

“This might be the event the health promotion class holds every semester, whatever the students make it,” she said. “I plan on doing it again, whether it’s the actual project for this class or through another biobehavioral health initiative.”

She noted the BBH program is expanding and adding more majors.

“BBH students are very hands-on and motivated,” she said, “They chose BBH because they want to make a difference in health.”