About the Mindfulness Learning Community
The Mindfulness Learning Community is an application-based opportunity open to all Honors students entering the UF in the Summer 2024 or Fall 2025.
This year-long academic and experiential-based program provides incoming honors students a socially engaged space to delve deep into various mindfulness practices. First-year students selected for this opportunity work with faculty, peer leaders/mentors, and campus partners to examine the value of mindfulness through literature, practice, and reflection. Invited students must commit to the required fall and spring activities outlined below to participate.
Fall 2024
Take the 1-credit Honors Mindfulness Learning Community course (worth 1 academic point)
Spring 2025
Engage in weekly small group activities and discussions with the support of a peer leader. Field trips and social gatherings offer the opportunity to build richer connections within the broader community (worth 1 enrichment point)
Summer 2025
(Optional) Participate in one of the organized early summer retreats - a 10-day silent meditation retreat or a weekend-long outdoor mindfulness adventure trip.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Interested students must sign in to Google using their Gatorlink username and password to access the application. The deadline to apply is May 16, 2024. Students selected will be notified by early June and enrolled in the 1-credit Honors Mindfulness Learning Community course.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Kristy Spear, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Honors Experiential Learning
Gayathry Prabhakaran and Tamar Deletis, Honors Executive Scholars
Peer Leaders/Mentors: Maggie Waring, Liz Thomason, Jeremy Rich, Srihith Nooka, Sarah Jivani, Rafae Jamal, Marissa Haberlin, and Kate Doherty
Notes from the Peer Leaders
Being a part of this community has had an enormous impact on how I go about my daily tasks and live in the moment. I've learned that a healthy mind is crucial to success in college as a freshman. I also learned that being able to stay mindful and appreciative of nature and the people around us is a blessing and leads to a more positive outlook on one's life and goals.
I've become more in touch with how I'm feeling and what my body needs. Learning to find the time to fully immerse my mind in a meditative state (through the many practices we've had) has allowed me to not only learn about my tendencies and bad habits/thoughts but also practice gratitude for every day, everyone, and everything that happens to me.
-Srihith Nooka
Engaging in this community has transformed my perspective on mindfulness as a whole. I previously believed practicing self-care required me to carve out a lot of time in my schedule. However, this community has shown me that practicing mindfulness is a lifestyle and doesn't need to be differentiated from other daily activities, which can be as simple as eating a meal or walking to class. To me, mindfulness can inhabit each and every thing that I do. Rather than an act, I now view mindfulness as a mindset and approach to life.
These weekly meetings remind me of the importance of taking a moment of pause to reflect on the intention behind what it is I am doing. I have implemented some of our practices, such as meditation and body scans, into my daily routine. Overall, I feel calmer, more present, and more grounded. Schoolwork and exams feel less daunting because I now have these tools to alleviate stress.
-Marissa Haberlin
I thought mindfulness was a completely independent practice and something to do alone and in silence. As someone who is relatively new to mindfulness practices and has always struggled to be consistent with it in the past, being a part of this group has helped me tremendously. There is something wonderful about practicing mindfulness with others while everyone simultaneously has extremely personal, intimate experiences with their own bodies and minds. I love that we are all experiencing that together, but at the same time, having such personal experiences within ourselves. It is something that both ties us together as a community and strengthens our relationships with ourselves.
-Sarah Jivani
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