NHTI Why Mindful Communications

Dan:
Welcome to our NHTI Why Series. I am here to discuss with you our Mindful Communications courses and program. And my name is Dan Huston, I am an English teacher here and the founder of those courses and coordinator of the certificate program. And I’m joined by one of my students, Crystal Thomas. So thanks for joining me. And you came to college not straight out of high school but as an adult?

Crystal:
Correct.

Dan:
And what made you come back to school?

Crystal:
Um I mean I, you know went to college when I was straight out of high school and never finished. So it was over ten years that I really wanted to come back but I, you know, feared failing at it and I just felt unfilled. So I took the plunge to finally come back.

Dan:
Yeah, I think a lot of people are in that boat.

Crystal:
Yeah probably.

Dan:
And so you didn’t know that mindfulness was going to be a part of your course work here?

Crystal:
I did not.

Dan:
So what was your reaction when you encountered it?

Crystal:
Um I was excited. I had, you know, heard about mindfulness in the past and kind of practiced it a little bit. But I didn’t have that much knowledge of it so I was excited to see how it would be taught in class.

Dan:
Okay, and how has it been going for you?

Crystal:
It’s been going good. I mean I think the biggest benefit for me is that it is a big stress reducer for me and I have lots of anxiety when it comes to school, so it’s helped with that a lot.

Dan:
Yeah, and college has a lot of stressors so if you can manage them better, that’s a good thing.

Crystal:
Exactly.

Dan:
Would you recommend the courses to other students?

Crystal:
I would recommend it to any student. I think it should be required for all students to take these classes. Just because it can’t do anything but benefit them.

Dan: