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As Alvin Community College students emerge from Covid-19 pandemic, college staff members are looking to implement positivity to improve morale and student performance.

Throughout the Fall semester the college Student Activities Department will host the Positive Pop-Up Series to help students apply positivity to their lives.

“We've been through an isolating pandemic,” said Jennifer Shimek, Psychology instructor. “It's time to connect and share experiences together, again. It's more than a matter of ‘just be happy’ when skies are gray. We need empirical research to inform us about happiness, hope, optimism, and joy as well as provide strategies for being positive.”

Students are invited on September 12 for Cookies and Counselors to give them an opportunity to speak with campus counselors about the available services on campus.

“We really want them to know that we care about their overall well-being,” Shimek said. “And we want to learn alongside them.”

The first event will be followed with Gratitude Day in October and the Random Act of Kindness Challenge in November.

The events and the Positivity initiative are a campus-wide effort to provide students and staff with a positive framework to deal with challenges that is based on research. The ultimate goal of the initiative, is student success, Shimek said.

“With this approach, it will bring us together,” she said. “Research shows that people are happier through affiliation and community.”

The Positivity Pop-Ups are a collaboration between the college’s Pathway to Positivity Initiative, Counseling Services, Student Activities and the Active Minds organization.

For more information, visit the ACC social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.