Healthy Relationships Week returns to campus next week, March 2-8, with several breakout sessions and events focused on “Learning to relate well to others.”
Healthy Relationships Week, formerly known as Marriage and the Family Week, then Dating, Engagement and Marriage Week, is a program of the Elrod Center for Family and Community that is committed to helping students strengthen relationships.
“Part of being a well-rounded person is knowing how to relate well to others,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center and coordinator for Healthy Relationships Week. “We don’t automatically know how to do this. We learn how to relate well to others from practice but it is also important to learn from individuals who are a little farther down the road [and] have some life experience.”
Because of this, the week will be full of events, breakout sessions and panels led by faculty, staff and other special guest speakers, many of whom are alumni who understand the specific relational pressures that Ouachita students experience.
“These mentors are not perfect people. All of them have stories to tell. Our sessions for the week will be led by individuals who have experienced joys and successes and disappointments and failures and through their life experience have learned how to love others well,” Duvall said.
Many of the speakers for the week are Ouachita faculty and staff that students are already familiar with, but maybe don’t know well. Through these sessions and panel discussions, students will be able to see their professors and others in a new way.
“One of the events we are very excited about offering this year are the women’s and men’s panels that will be held on two different nights. These sessions are called ‘Living the Life, 365: Learning to navigate every phase of life,’” Duvall said. “At these sessions and others offered throughout the week, our students will be able to hear from respected faculty and staff members and other individuals about relating well in different areas of life.”
Duvall and the leadership team want to be sure students know that the week is for everyone, not just for those who are in dating, engagement or marriage relationships.They want to emphasize that relationships with people are second only to each person’s relationship with God.
“I hope that Healthy Relationships Week will challenge us to improve our skills in order to improve the relationships God has given each of us – not only in romantic relationships but in relationships with friends, family and coworkers,” said Amy Campbell, a member of the leadership team for the week.
Duvall believes that the week is an important one for students to take advantage of.
“I’m just really excited about the week. We are going to spend a lot of time praying for our speakers and our students,” Duvall said. “This week is just really unique and students can really benefit from this. Even if they just come to two things, I think it could benefit them.”
Vice President for Community and International Engagement, Ian Cosh, says the goal for the week is to make sure we remain lifelong learners in managing relationships.
“The Elrod Center was established to highlight the importance of community and the need to be fully engaged in it,” he said. “At the heart of community are the relationships that people enjoy with each other. Those relationships can be the source of the greatest joy when they are healthy and the source of the deepest pain when they become dysfunctional.”
During the week, follow @ElrodCenterOBU on Twitter for updates about the week and reminders about the 15 different events students can attend.
For more information about the week or the Elrod Center for Family and Community, visit www.obu.edu/elrod or contact Judy Duvall at duvallj@obu.edu or (870) 245-5320.
