Wellness Month Brings Wealth of Stress-Busting Activities to Campus

10/10/2025

(L to R) Director of Residence Life Alexis “AJ” Grafakos and Director of Student Life Kacy C. Vance ’22 get October Wellness Month (and their days) off to a great start with a healthy breakfast. It was one of a slew of wellness activities that the student support team has put together for students.

When Director of Student Life Kacy C. Vance ’22 was a 1L at Brooklyn Law School, she discovered something new and scary about herself in her first semester. She suffered from anxiety.

“I had experienced bouts of anxiety before law school, but I didn't recognize that it was anxiety until I got to law school,” said Vance. “It was debilitating, and I didn't know what to do with that feeling.”

Flash forward six years, and Vance is successfully managing her anxiety, including through therapy, which she has maintained since discovering how beneficial it was in her 1L year. Since joining the Law School in May, she and her colleagues on the student support team, Dean of Students Sarah Jean Kelly and Arthur Pinto & Stephen Bohlen Associate Dean of Inclusion & Diversity Dominique Fowler, have made student health and wellness part of their mission. They want students, especially 1Ls, to understand that if the performance pressure inherent in studying law is making them feel anxious or depressed, they are not alone, and help is available.

The team has planned a slew of wellness activities for the month of October, including today, which is World Mental Health Day (Friday, Oct. 10, 2025). The student support team is also reminding students about the importance of mental health, through TimelyCare, a program that offers up to 12 free individual therapy sessions (and potentially more if they reach out to Vance). They can also access a hotline for emergencies, and connect with a psychiatrist for medication, if needed.

While stress and anxiety can affect anyone, both are a common and unexpected jolt for those attending law school, especially in year one. “Most law students are high-achieving, gifted students who made it here but now aren't used to the way that law school works, which is so different from undergrad,” Vance said. “For example, being graded on a curve, in relation to other students makes it so competitive. You can earn an “A” on your paper, but if someone writes one sentence better than you, you get dropped down to a “B,” and it gives students a sense that their grades do not line up with what they deserve. I reckoned with this myself and could not understand how I could be such a high-achieving student as an undergraduate, and then barely be scraping by in law school.”

Beyond law school, members of the legal profession also wrestle with mental health struggles that can lead to problems such as substance misuse, which is why prioritizing wellness is so important, Vance said.

“We didn't have a lot of wellness programming when I was a student here, but I would have liked to have someone explain what mental health looks like for lawyers, and to explain that despite appearances, lawyers aren't always super confident, ready to argue at the drop of a hat,” Vance said. “It takes a lot of preparation. It takes working through your anxieties and dealing with depression or feeling overwhelmed. It would have made a huge difference for me to know then what I know now.”

The month’s events include playing up the importance of eating well. A healthy breakfast event and a make-your-own trail mix snack session will underscore the role of good nutrition in improving cognitive performance. There is also an emphasis on movement, with a free Pilates session and discounts on more, and on creativity to help students break free of all-work, no-play mode. .

Below is the full list of events.

Wellness Month Activities

Monday, Oct. 6, Healthy Breakfast in the Student Lounge
Thursday, Oct. 9: Aromatherapy with Scented Oil Sachets
Friday, Oct. 10: World Mental Health Day
Monday, Oct. 13: Make Your Own Emotional Support Water Bottles
Tuesday, Oct. 14: Make Your Own Bouquet
Wednesday, Oct. 15: Trail Mix Bar in the Student Lounge
Monday, Oct. 20: Pilates with Jan from Henry Street Fitness
Wednesday, Oct. 22: Panel on Anxiety in the Field of Law
Thursday, Oct. 23: Yoga and Mindfulness with Alexi Kyle
Monday, Oct. 27: Paint + Sip Night, with tea
Wednesday, Oct. 29: Movie Night: Screening of Coco