If you have ever been to a workshop about bystander intervention or seen a WEVP event advertised on Instagram, you have probably encountered the work of Peer Health Educators without realizing how much thought stands behind it.
The Office of Student Wellness Education and Violence Prevention, known as WEVP, works at the intersection of mental health, sexual and relationship violence prevention, healthy relationships and sexual health. The office, led by Sam Thiry, Director of Wellness Programs, partners closely with community advocates in Lancaster to ensure that students have access to confidential support and real resources. But what makes WEVP distinctive is that much of its public facing work is student-driven. Peer Health Educators translate these concepts into conversations that make sense in college settings. Hannah Dewdney is one of those students.
For Hannah, a sophomore Posse Scholar from New York double majoring in BOS and Neuroscience, that commitment felt personal from the beginning.
Hannah entered the Peer Health Educator program wanting to understand violence prevention and mental health more deeply. Her academic interests already sit at the intersection of systems and the brain, institutions and behavior. But her motivation extended beyond coursework. Growing up, mental health was not a foreign topic, it carried weight inside her family, shaping daily life in ways that required patience, resilience, and constant learning. Navigating that environment made her aware of how complex mental health conditions can be, especially when resources feel difficult to access.
At F&M, becoming a Peer Health Educator meant gaining tools Hannah wished had been able to access more easily. It meant understanding prevention from the inside, learning how institutions respond to harm, and recognizing how stigma quietly shapes the decisions people make every day. Hannah strives to be a role model within her communities by showing up informed and prepared when conversations become difficult.
Hannah’s semester project, Healing on Paper, builds directly from these questions. This workshop focused on mental health in Black communities and introduced journaling as an accessible and effective practice for coping and reflection. She designed it to increase awareness of campus mental health resources and to promote journaling as a healthy outlet for processing thoughts and emotions.
The workshop took place on February 12 in Booth Ferris, in collaboration with the Black Student Union. Hannah structured the session in a clear sequence of a myth-or-fact icebreaker, an overview of different types of journaling, guided prompts, a discussion of campus resources and a closing reflection.
During the myth or fact activity, participants responded to statements about mental health and journaling. One of the statements read, “You have to be a good writer to journal.” Many participants initially identified it as fact. When Hannah clarified that it was a myth, it became a point of discussion. Several participants shared that they had assumed journaling required strong writing skills, which had discouraged them from trying it.
Hannah then introduced different forms of journaling, including reflective journaling, gratitude journaling and dot journaling. She emphasized that journaling does not require a specific format. It can be structured or informal. It can be brief. The goal is expression and reflection rather than performance.
Participants were given prompts and time to write. The session concluded with a review of campus mental health resources, a brief reflection on how participants felt, and a closing statement from Viola Davis’ Finding Me: “My biggest discovery was that you can literally re-create your life.”
At the end of the workshop, Hannah distributed a survey to evaluate its impact. The workshop was well attended, and participants remained engaged throughout the hour.
Healing on Paper combined cultural context, education, and practice within a structured space, offering students both information and a tangible strategy they can continue independently.
It is clear from speaking with Hannah that Peer Health Educators don’t simply fill a role. They harness their personal histories and training to transform advocacy and education into a structured, empathetic, and high-impact mission.
Wellness on a campus is built by students who choose to learn the hard material and then stay in the conversation. Hannah is one of them.
Maria Fernanda Araoz Pozo is a contributing writer. Her email is maraozpo@fandm.edu.