Humans of U-M: Zoe Wright on finding purpose through well-being work

Zoe Wright is a leader. She’s heard this from her teachers for as long as she can remember, though admittedly fourth-grade Zoe was less interested in what it meant.

When the Ypsilanti native first arrived on campus, she didn’t identify as a leader. Now a senior, Zoe reflects on how she’s grown into that title through her decisions about who and how she spent her time at Michigan.

Q: Tell me about yourself.

I’m originally from Ypsilanti, Michigan, so not too far from Ann Arbor. I’m a senior studying Biopsychology, Cognition, & Neuroscience (BCN) with a minor in Education for Empowerment.

I am a lead program assistant at Wolverine Wellness. My role consists of being a peer facilitator for a class we have, ALA 240: Living Well in College and Beyond, but then also working as a wellness coach. I’m currently the president of the Black Undergraduate Psychological Association, or BUPA.

I’m also a “Big Sib” on campus through the program SIBS, which supports incoming Black students. I’ve been involved with that program for the past three years. My first year I was a “Little Sib,” but a “Big Sib” these last couple years.

Last summer, I was an intern with the Well-Being at LSA initiative as a mental health and wellbeing student advocate.

Q: Tell me more about your experience with Wolverine Wellness.

Wolverine Wellness is my safe space on campus and I want it to be everybody’s safe space on campus.

Wolverine Wellness is a holistic wellbeing office. We focus on students as people first. We know that you had a whole experience before getting here and that’s influencing how you’re showing up now. We understand you have other factors like environmental health and financial health—and all of that is going to impact how you show up.

We really take the approach of meeting people where they’re at. If you’re going to come into class and sit in the back and not talk to anybody, we’re going to check in with you. And if you’re like “Yeah, I don’t know. Something’s going on at home and I just can’t do it today.” We’re going to say “OK. We’re here for you. Here’s my email. When you’re ready, let’s talk.”

That’s a lot of what we do. We meet people where they are and get them connected.

We also believe that individuals have all the answers about themselves. Even in wellness coaching, it is not therapy. I’m going to ask you questions to lead you to the answer. I don’t know what you want to do or what the best route is for you; I am never going to tell you what I think it is. I’m going to help you figure it out for yourself.

Q: What led you to become part of Wolverine Wellness?

During my freshman year, I actually took the class ALA 240: Living Well in College and Beyond.

Q: Tell me a little about the class ALA 240.

The class focuses completely on student wellbeing. Instead of treating students only as students, the instructors treat us as people.

We unpack the eight dimensions of wellbeing. We talk about meaning and purpose. We talk about conflicts, healthy relationships, safer sex. We talk about campus culture and how we  fit into it, or how we don’t.

That class just opened me up to thinking about what my college experience was going to be and how to take care of myself while navigating it.

The only requirement to become a peer facilitator is to have to have taken the class. When the application opened, honestly, as a freshman, I was scared. I wasn’t going to apply, but one of my great friends who was my peer facilitator at the time, Morgan Brown, she said “Oh no, you’re applying.”

I did apply and I got the role. Morgan definitely motivated me and encouraged me to apply and I’ve been there ever since. I’ve peer facilitated the class for about four, maybe five,  semesters now. Then I started wellness coaching last semester. That’s been a super rewarding role as well.

Q: Tell me about how you found your place or leadership on campus.

Honestly, Wolverine Wellness did play a huge role in helping me find my place, and this building, Trotter (Multicultural Center). This is where students of color, but specifically Black students, feel safe on campus. This building was something promoted to me, as a Black student, to take advantage of this space.

Finding my friends here, going to Black Student Union meetings and meeting people that way is definitely how I found my people.

But then also through Wolverine Wellness and having that job and having Morgan to look up to, as well as the other amazing folks at Wolverine Wellness. The people at Wolverine Wellness just poured so much into me. “You can do this. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.”

Through that kind of motivation and affirmation—like, you have good ideas—has definitely kept me going and continuing to put myself out there.

Past my freshmen year and really thinking about last year, seeing the impact I can have on people or that Wolverine Wellness programs can have on people, that’s what I want. That’s what I value as impact—I want to make a difference.

Being able to see that tangibly just makes me want to keep doing it more and more.

Q: What are some things you’ve learned about yourself through this experience?

It sounds corny but just how everything matters. What you tell yourself in the morning matters. How you take care of yourself matters. How much you take care of yourself matters. Where you’re spending your time matters. Who you’re spending your time with matters.

All of those things really do impact your mental health and wellbeing. You have to be very intentional about the things that you do and the people you’re with.

That’s helped me not only be intentional but also selective.

College is hard. This is a big university. It’s very easy to get caught up in really anything and everything. Wolverine Wellness has helped to ground myself to ask: Is this something that feels good to me? Is this something I value? Is this something I’ll feel good about in five years?

Being able to develop my moral compass is a huge part of this experience for me.

Q: What do you think has helped you develop that awareness?

A lot of reflection. I am a big journaler and we journal in ALA 240. Spending some time with myself has helped. Why am I thinking this way? What happened five years ago in high school that is still coming up in this relationship?

It’s really taking time to learn myself and give myself grace because college is intense. U-M is intense. It is hard. It is scary. But I’ve learned to lean into that; that it’s supposed to be hard and scary and I have so many people around me both on campus and off campus that support me. It’s helpful to lean back on them when needed is a really big blessing.

Q: Is there something that came out of your work at Wolverine Wellness that you’re especially proud of?

Two things come to mind.

First, I worked with a team to help strengthen the wellness coaching program at the Trotter Multicultural Center so it could exist in a more sustainable way. We thought about how we could make sure the community knows we’re here. How could we make sure people are actually signing up? How do we pick times that students can make it? We really planned it out.

That’s something I’m very, very proud of because mental health resources look different for students of color. We wanted to make this resource accessible for them; Trotter is where students of color, specifically Black students, are. So if these students are always here, well, the wellness coaching team is upstairs so you can come talk to us if you need something. You don’t need to go somewhere you’ve never been before; it’s more comforting that way.

The second is my first wellness coaching client. I don’t think I’ll ever forget her. Obviously, I was nervous going into that first session.

I took her through the eight dimensions of well-being and we prioritized a dimension and developed a plan. At the end, I said, “So, like, if you’d like to schedule again, here’s how you do it.” And she immediately said, “Yes. Please.”

And I asked her, “With me?” And she said, “Yes.”

And I was just like “Oh my gosh, you want to see me again! We really did something.”

She ended up doing all six sessions with me. Finishing that out with my first ever client was something I was so proud of. The last session is reflection, asking what they got out of it and for me, as the coach, is there something I could have done better.

She was just raving, saying “I cannot believe you’re only a few years older than me, I cannot believe I was your first client. You’re amazing”

I was just so touched because the first time I was very, very nervous. Of course, I got more into it and became more comfortable as time went on. But for her to be so surprised she was my first client, I was like “OK, I’m doing something good here.”

Q: Can you walk me through the wellness coaching method?

Each session starts with about 10–15 minutes of rapport building so the student feels comfortable.

Then we discuss what brought them in. We use an intake form based on the eight dimensions of wellbeing, where students rank different areas of their life. If a client comes in and says, “Everything is wrong. Please help me.” We give them this sheet and it explains all the eight dimensions of well-being and asks students to rank them. It helps the client and I to identify what’s the most pressing issue.

From there, we focus on one, maybe two, priority areas. Then, I ask them to tell me more and I ask if they have any idea of what they’d like to do. I ask if they’ve heard of any tips or tricks from social media, their friends or their family. And I always ask if it’s OK if I share some ideas with them. We bounce ideas off of one another before making a plan.

If a student wants to work out more, we define how many days actually is feasible for them. What time of day is feasible. I want them to walk away thinking “OK, I can do this for the next two weeks, then I can come back and add something else to the plan.”

Q: What are the eight dimensions of wellbeing?

The eight dimensions include mental and emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing, occupational wellbeing, financial wellbeing, intellectual wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, social wellbeing, and environmental wellbeing.

These are all encompassing because you are a whole, entire person.

They’re often visualized as a wheel because all of the dimensions intersect. If one area is out of balance, you are going to feel that in other places. The goal is to maintain balance across the wheel. We might need to first focus on mental wellbeing and that’s OK. But once we get that one right, let’s talk about occupational, too. We have to make sure we’re covering all of our bases so you can truly be well.

Q: What does it mean to you to be a non-judgmental guide, and how do you build trust in such a short time?

We’re really intentional about building trust because these are people who are trusting us with their stories. They’re being vulnerable.

Every session we build in 10-15 minutes of rapport building.

You’re not going to sit in front of me and I ask “OK, so what’s wrong with you?”

I’m going to ask you what made you choose Michigan or what’s your favorite place on campus. It’s really important to me as an undergraduate peer coach that we get on the same level. I never want someone to be sitting in front of me thinking that I know something they don’t. Really, they know something I don’t!

I always try to get on the same level as them by finding some type of common ground.

Being non-judgmental really comes down to meeting people where they are. We’re also mindful about language. For example, if someone refers to their partner in a certain way, we mirror that language instead of making assumptions. Little things like that go a long way.

It’s also not having expectations. We have goals or action items we send students home with after our session, but I’m never expecting you to come back to say whether you did do this or you didn’t do it. Let’s talk about what got in the way of you doing it, or if you did do it but it didn’t feel good, let’s unpack that and what I can pull out.

I want the best for you and I am a miniscule part of this journey.

Q: What is something you’ve taken away from these experiences that will stay with you?

I know I’ve said this a few times, but meeting people where they are goes a long way. That extends into your personal life, too

When I’m working with people on campus, it’s like “Of course. You don’t want to do this? Then don’t do it.” But then if my sister doesn’t want to do something, I’m like, “Girl, what is your problem?”

It’s being able to transfer these skills over into your personal life. Again, how you’re spending your time and who you’re spending your time with. It rubs off on you. You just have to be so intentional with what you do.

It also instilled in me and confirmed my three core values: love, authenticity, and impact.

I believe in radical love. I love everybody here. I want the best for everybody here. And so when a student comes in, I’m doing my best out of love for you. I want the best for you.

Then being able to impact you in that way by giving you these resources maybe you haven’t thought about or even just being a listening ear. Some students will come in for like two sessions and just say, “Thank you so much. Like, I just needed to talk to somebody.” I’m like, “OK, any time! Book again!”

I’ve really appreciated being able to see my impact.

Another thing I’ve taken away from these experiences is the importance of being authentic, like knowing how powerful that is because people pick up on that very quickly. Working with the college population now, they know if you’re faking. They know if you’re putting on a front and they’re going to call you out. Bringing my full self into this work inspires other people to give me that same energy. And so now we’re both meeting each other just as ourselves. And that’s where the real work gets done.

Q: How has leadership become part of your identity?

I love talking about leadership. Growing up, I was really good in school, love school, love to learn. Even a little bit of a teacher’s pet. And so teachers would always say, you know, at parent-teacher conferences, “Zoe’s such a leader.”

I’m in fourth grade. I don’t care. That means nothing to me.

Even in high school, teachers would pull me aside and say, “You’re such a leader. Make sure you’re doing the right thing because your friends are going to follow.”

Coming to campus, even as a freshman, nobody knows me. I’m not a leader but growing into that.

Being a peer facilitator at Wolverine Wellness, I’m literally in the front of the classroom teaching kids who are older than me. Being in that position but also through the Barger Leadership Institute, I’m a part of the leadership certificate program. That’s really given me the language and the ability to step into my leadership.

It’s helped me to be able to communicate my values and to communicate with others in that way. It helps me to just lead with compassion and to lead with that love and authenticity. It’s something that, as a freshman, I would be like, “You’re joking right now. You’re actually joking me.”

It’s just been a journey of stepping into myself. I’m taking in what other people are saying, but also being mindful that not everybody wants you to win. It’s having some discretion when other people are supporting you and trying to guide you a certain way.

Again, going back to that moral compass, “Does this feel right to me? Is this a good idea? Is this going to feel good in five years?”