Basic Need Challenges of Today's Students: How to Best Support these Needs
Room: LSB 133
Abstract
College students face a vast array of basic needs challenges that can impact their ability to thrive inside and outside of the classroom. Basic needs can include (but are not limited to) food and housing security, healthcare for mental and physical health/well-being, childcare, resources for personal hygiene, and more. Utah State University has many programs and services that aim to support the basic needs of students. In addition, there are many off campus resources that students are often eligible for. Being aware of the resources available and connecting students to those resources is essential when helping students navigate these hardships. This panel of USU faculty will address the challenges USU students face with food security, housing security, and mental health. The panel will discuss on and off campus programs and services available to support students in meeting these basic needs during their time at USU.
*Participants will learn to describe the basic needs challenges USU students face and how it can impact their academic success.
*Participants will learn to identify on and off campus programs/services available to support students with food security, housing security, and mental health.
*Participants will become more comfortable addressing student basic needs concerns and connecting students with resources.
Dr. Mateja Savoie Roskos
Associate Dean; Associate Professor; MPH Program Director
Dr. Mateja Savoie-Roskos is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Student Services in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Mateja is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences and the Director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program. She teaches primarily graduate courses for the MPH program including Hunger Issues and Solutions and Motivational Interviewing for Health Professionals. Mateja's research primarily focuses on interventions for addressing food insecurity among college students and individuals with low incomes.
Dr. Jennifer Grewe
Assistant Professor and Director of Connections
Dr. Jennifer Grewe is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. She is the program Director of Connections (first-year experience program) and co-Director of the psychology undergraduate program. She has taught thousands of undergraduate students in various psychology courses including Introduction to Psychology, Undergraduate Apprenticeship, Health Psychology, and Scientific Thinking and Methods in Psychology. She is both the Rocky Mountain Vice President and local chapter advisor of Psi Chi (International Psychology Honors Society). She is an active member of the Society of Teaching Psychology (APA, Div.2). Dr. Grewe enjoys working with undergraduate students in all levels of their career and loves being an Aggie!
Dr. Jess Lucero
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Dr. Jess Lucero is an Associate Professor and the Department Chair in the Department of Social Work at Utah State University. She is a community-engaged teacher-scholar whose work focuses primarily on housing, homelessness, and intimate partner violence. She is an executive member of the Bear River Local Homeless Council and the Chair of the Logan City Planning Commission. Her nonprofit and human service background informs her community-engaged teaching approach and community partnership philosophy. She primarily teaches in the areas of research and community practice.
Jan Thornton, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Associate Professor
Jan Thornton is a Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Student Counseling at Utah State University Eastern. She is currently licensed as a Clinical Social Worker and has spent nearly 20 years in clinical practice. In her role, she has taught students across the curriculum from introductory courses through advanced clinical practice. She mostly teaches in the areas of direct clinical practice.