When Lehigh put out a call for ideas on how to improve student retention, marketing professor Laura Smarandescu was quick to start crafting a proposal pairing mental health with art.
She partnered with Gretchen Meyerhoefer, the coordinator for the College of Business, and Julie Miwa, a biological sciences professor, to create Harmony Within.
The initiative — consisting of five activities spread across September and October — features different media and approaches aimed at improving students’ mental health.
“The idea is to cultivate personal connections, increase awareness of this mental health stigma and address the issue of social isolation that’s heightened by social media,” Smarandescu said.
She said the activities are a fun way for students to connect with others and find tools to address concerns such as anxiety and stress. They also offer a relaxing, creative atmosphere to encourage a natural dopamine release for visitors.
The project started last semester when Smarandescu asked her students to research themes for a marketing campaign, and mental health quickly became a prominent theme. The team also collected data from the Department of Student Affairs and talked to health-related departments across campus.
Collaboration was an important part of creating a successful initiative, Smarandescu said, and she was responsible for planning some of the activities while her two colleagues planned the others.
Meyerhoefer said working together on the project was enjoyable because the three women were already friends.
They have supported each other throughout the process, Meyerhoefer said, which has allowed them to make the multi-departmental project cohesive.
“We try to embody in our relationship what we want to encourage people to be to one another on campus, which is kind and inclusive and supportive,” Meyerhoefer said.
She said the motivation driving her involvement in the initiative is the memory of a close friend who struggled with mental illness and passed away in college. At that time, she said, discussions about mental health were limited and there were few on-campus resources.
Meyerhoefer said she hopes the initiative can provide students a place to talk and think about their challenges and work to understand that everyone struggles with their mental wellness from time to time.
“I really hope that students will find connection and community through the events that we’re producing,” Meyerhoefer said. “I also hope that we can make it a little easier for those who might be struggling with mental health challenges to not only connect to good resources for assistance but to also find their Lehigh people, those both on and off campus who will be a source of support for them throughout their college experience.”
Smarandescu said mental health can be a dark topic, but she hopes the activities will be an enjoyable way to engage people and start important conversations.
To increase the impact of the project, Smarandescu asked her marketing classes to reach out to fellow students in order to understand the issues the campus community is currently facing.
She also recruited students in these classes, along with members of Lehigh’s Marketing Club, to spread the word about the events.
“I want this to be a campaign from students to students, and the promotion is going to be on them to get the word out,” Smarandescu said.
One of these students is Kiera Hahn, ‘26, the vice president of communications for the Marketing Club. She has been working with Smarandescu on a promotional campaign for Harmony Within.
Hahn said part of the Marketing Club’s work has been reaching out to other clubs on campus and asking them to share the events in group chats and through Instagram. Hahn also helped design posters to advertise the series.
This experience has taught Hahn a lot, she said, and she appreciates how the initiative encourages connection even beyond campus.
“It’s multilayered,” Hahn said. “It’s talking about mental health, bringing together groups of people and also connecting with the Lehigh community (and) overall the Bethlehem community.”
Messages from the future, a display in Rauch Business Center, featured encouraging notes from alumni from Sept. 16-21. Neurosalon, a multimedia performance combining music, art and science, was held Sept. 23 at the Steel Stacks.
A guided meditation will be held Oct. 3 at Taylor Gym, and a dance therapy class will be held there the next day. A photography contest, the last of the five activities, will run from Oct. 21-26 in the Business Innovation Building.
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