The Dos Pueblos High School Wellness Center officially opened on Tuesday at 4 p.m. after over two years of planning. The Wellness Center has been open since the end of Term 1, but Tuesday marked DPHS “officially and fully [opening] the DPHS Wellness Center,” according to Dean of Student Engagement Bethany Bodenhamer.
The opening was an opportunity for guests to tour the space and hear from those involved with the project. Before cutting the ribbon, DPHS Principal Bill Woodard, Fundraising Chair Jennifer Ono, students Pessia Fygenson (12) and Nicole Barger (12), and Bodenhamer all addressed the crowd.
“An undertaking of this magnitude, it takes a village,” Ono said. “Thank you to our board members, thank you to our donors, thank you to everyone who made this happen.”
Bodenhamer said that the goal of the Wellness Center is to provide “a safe, welcoming space” for students. It has therapy rooms, food, and staff working to give students a confidential space on campus.
“On a wonderful campus full of lots of improvements, [the Wellness Center] might be the coolest place on our campus,” Woodard said. “The main goal of this Wellness Center is to support academics; it is to make sure our students have a place to reconnect, to recharge, to make sure they can be better students.”
Fygenson’s portion was focused on what mental wellness meant for her. She spoke about how, to her, mental wellness was the same as being emotionally healthy.
“It means respecting your emotions and honoring those you have,” Fygenson said. “Having the Wellness Center means there is now a designated place for students to do this.”
Barger spoke after Fygenson, sharing her journey in helping create the Wellness Center. Barger was originally pointed to the Sources of Strength club before she started to advocate for a different mental health space for students.
“Throughout my time as a student, I’ve had a very involved journey with mental health,” Barger said. “What really made me open up to this school was the people and the community … Meeting so many other passionate students and becoming more involved at DP fueled my own passion for mental health and made me want to … create positive change on campus.”
Multiple supporters were thanked by Ono for donating to the Wellness Center, including Deckers Outdoor Corporation, the Schley family, the John C Mithun Foundation, and an anonymous donor.
“Most importantly, I want to thank our incredible students,” Bodenhamer said. “For using your voices to advocate for your needs, for pushing for greater access to mental health support, for genuinely caring about your peers and your generation … thank you.”
The Wellness Center is available to all students and is located in room T-03.
