Shivani Damera, Class of 2023, joins Albany Law’s Wellness Initiative as a Colby Fellow! Please give her a warm welcome!
“Over the past several years, I’ve struggled on and off with depression. In undergrad, I tried to talk to a therapist but I felt like I didn’t know how to verbalize what I was feeling. This pushed me to explore other avenues of wellness beyond talk therapy. I learned about different body-based grounding practices, and began to incorporate meditation and journaling into my daily life. These practices have stayed with me to this day. Since then, I have had the opportunity to create mental health programming for AAPI college students and young professionals around topics relating to career development, gender and identity, micro aggressions, and stress management. I have also become certified as a breathwork facilitator, a form of mindfulness meditation. As a part of the Wellness Initiative, I hope to bring my experience with mental health and wellness to create a space for students to find community with one another and to empower students to create healthy practices that work for them. Questions? Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].”