Photos courtesy of Alexandra Riley
Hopkins High School’s Chill Club
Alexandra Riley (far left) at Hopkins High School’s Chill Club
Alexandra Riley, a 17-year-old junior from Hopkins High School, used to think about the future and all of its post-secondary “what-ifs.” A lot.
“The ‘unknown’ is what’s nerve-racking to me, especially graduating from high school and going to college,” she says. Between grappling with the pressures of grades, sports, test scores, and jobs—plus social media’s comparison trap—it’s a particularly stressful time for teens like Riley, where life feels like a balancing act with no clear-cut answers.
“The pressure to do well on the ACT and then the college hunt is so consuming to so many teens that focusing on their schoolwork becomes almost secondary their last two years of high school,” says Susan Nygaard, RN, PHN, manager of Allina Health’s Community Health Improvement.
The need for adolescent mental health programming emerged during Allina Health’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in 2013, when student survey data showed a marked increase in the rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Experts across the health system met with local teens, later giving shape to what is now known as the Change to Chill (CTC) program.
Change to Chill is a program
Change to Chill is a program for teens that offers student-led activities, such as meditation, to help them cope with the stress of adolescence. For more info, go to changetochill.org
In the 2018–2019 school year, Hopkins and nine other participating schools demonstrated a variety of engagement activities with CTC through student clubs, “chill weeks,” and the creation of designated spaces (“Chill Zones”) to de-stress. In the 2019–2020 school year, CTC is poised to reach 16 new area high schools.
Riley’s efforts as a Chill Champion intern helped give life to her school’s first-ever “Chill Club,” a space where students meet to rest and recharge.
“We start off with a long meditation video to help unwind from the day,” says Riley. “And then we have centered activities planned like painting or learning about essential oils. One of the coolest things about this club is that we’re student led!”
So far, Allina Health and its partnership schools can count 100,000 teens among those who have seen positive impacts on their wellbeing thanks to CTC and its coping lessons.
“I’ve learned so much about myself, my school, and my community,” says Riley. “One thing I’ve taken away is getting perspective in my life.”
