Register for March 11 Focus Health and Wellness Symposium: Thriving Together
Lunch included with keynote ‘The Science of Mindfulness’ presentation by ‘Dr. Kris’
Register for March 11 Focus Health and Wellness Symposium: Thriving Together
Miami University’s Health and Wellness Symposium: Thriving Together will be held from 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11. The free event, part of this year’s FOCUS program, is open to faculty, staff, and students.
Register in advance to attend the symposium at the Armstrong Student Center. Lunch is included with the keynote presentation for registered attendees.
The keynote speaker is Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW, an internationally recognized, award-winning behavioral science clinician, researcher, educator, speaker, and comedian from Boston. Lee, who is known as “Dr. Kris,” will speak on “The Science of Mindfulness” from noon-1:30 p.m. in Armstrong Pavilion.
“Dr. Kris’s work reminds us that resilience and mindfulness aren’t abstract ideas but skills we can intentionally build together,” said Steve Large, assistant vice president for health and wellness for Student Life who co-chairs the Focus steering committee. “Her message reflects Miami’s deep commitment to fostering a campus community where well-being is a shared priority.”
Why attend
The Focus program is an initiative that explores a different theme each year. This year’s theme, Health and Wellness: Thriving Together, explores many areas of well-being, including emotional, physical, and social health.
The symposium offers an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to come together around health and wellness to share knowledge and strengthen the Miami community’s sense of well-being.
“The Health and Wellness Symposium is about more than a single day of programming,” said Kyle Timmerman, professor and chair of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health and committee co-chair.
“It is an opportunity for our Miami Community to come together, learn from one another, and leave with practical strategies to enhance emotional, physical, and social well-being. When we invest in health collectively, we strengthen not only individuals but our entire Miami community.”
Breakout sessions, other highlights
Breakout sessions offer opportunities to learn, connect, and explore a variety of health and wellness topics. Large noted the educational session tracks are focused on health and wellness in both academic and personal life, with many interactive activity-based sessions.
Other highlights:
- A poster session and therapy dogs from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Armstrong Pavilion
- TriHealth biometric screenings and wellness assessments
- A Health and Wellness Symposium lounge with coffee available throughout the day
- From 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Armstrong Wilks Theater, Steve Large will moderate a student panel on balance and well-being featuring students Arushi Agrawal, Rondale Carridine, Abby Meister, and Peyton Morrow.
A student’s perspective
Students who attend the symposium will gain a wide variety of perspectives surrounding health and wellness, said Meister, a senior Psychology major and peer health educator with Miami Hope, a student-run organization focused on suicide preventon and reducing mental health stigma.
“I think it's incredibly important, when looking for confidence/inspiration, that students see themselves represented in research, speakers, and careers,” she said. “This symposium will allow students to see their own identities reflected in spaces of opportunity, support, and resources.”
Meister is a peer health educator with a focus on mental health for the Office of Student Wellness. There are two main parts of the job, staffing the Wellness Studio and creating/presenting programs to students.
Miami hosting a symposium on this topic shows “how high of a priority the wellness of students is for Miami as an institution,” she said. “So many students go through four years at the university without learning anything new about their own health or the resources on campus. Events like this symposium really help fix that.”
More about Dr. Kris
The lead faculty member in Behavioral Science within the Healthcare and Biotech domain at Northeastern University, Lee’s research and teaching interests include individual and organizational well-being and resilience, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations.
Lee is the author of “Worth the Risk: How to Microdose Bravery to Grow Resilience, Connect More, and Offer Yourself to the World,” (Sounds True, 2022) a Nautilus Book Award Silver Medal winner.
She also authored “RESET: Make the Most of Your Stress,” which won the Next Generation Indie Book Awards Motivational Book of 2015 and the 2018 bestselling “Mentalligence: A New Psychology of Thinking.”
Lee is the host of “Crackin’ Up: Where Therapy Meets Comedy.” Her Tedx talk, “The Risk You Must Take,” has more than 427,000 views.
