The Student Life Pulse | September 2026 | Issue 8

Featured

Be Well RMC: Putting Wellness at the Center

Good afternoon and welcome back to the 2026–27 academic year. I hope this newsletter finds you all off to a fantastic start.

In preparation for the year, our colleagues, Shaydean Saye (Housing) and Maggie Peckham (Activities), spent part of their summer earning certification in Nutrition, Chronic
Disease Prevention, and Health Promotion. As a result, we have asked both of them to lead us in planning, programming, and program assessment of our Be Well RMC initiatives. In this first edition of The Pulse, I thought you might appreciate a brief overview of Be Well.

The mission of RMC’s Be Well program is to promote student wellness through innovative programming that inspires growth, enhances well‑being, and supports balanced living. Our objectives include enhancing wellness knowledge, encouraging healthy behaviors and relationships, and building informed decision‑making skills, particularly around alcohol/drug use. Our programmatic goals include engaging 50% of the student body each semester in at least
one Be Well program; earning an 85%+ student satisfaction rating; and having 70%+ of participants report an increased awareness of health/wellness issues.

Funding & Oversight: The Office of Residence Life has secured three wellness grants — Healthy Colleges Montana, Rape Prevention Education, and Strategic Prevention Framework (Partnerships for Success) — supporting chronic disease prevention, sexual violence prevention, and drug/alcohol harm reduction.

Collaboration: Residence Life and Student Activities work together with student leaders to design
events, run social media campaigns, and share wellness messaging, guided by five years of NCHA surveys and assessment data.

From the Student Life Team

The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement gathers data on entering students’ academic and co‑curricular backgrounds, as well as their expectations for engaging in educationally purposeful activities during their first year. Historically, this data has guided our programming and helped foster meaningful conversations with first‑year students.

If you would like copies of your advisees’ reports, please send me their names, and I will gladly provide them. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

BCSSE by the Numbers

80%

Survey participation

278

New student responses

49%

Identify academic support as very important

78%

RMC was their 1st choice college

Student Life Highlights

437 Campus Residents

are currently housed across the four residence halls, which are all operating at high capacity this semester.

265 First‑Year Students

have the opportunity to meet with upperclassmen in the LEAP Peer Mentor program. We have 15 peer mentors this year
who are trained and excited to get mentoring!

Bear Fair – Friday, Sept. 18

4–7 pm on the Rocky Green. Students, staff, faculty, and families are invited to enjoy face painting, carnival bungee jumping, a petting zoo, free dinner, and lemonade.

Through the Bear’s Cupboard and other resources, students may have access to:

Food Pantry • Snack Baskets • Community Fridge • Textbook Scholarships • Emergency Funding • Short‑Term Laptop Loans

To refer a student or learn more, contact
chaplain@rocky.edu.

Campus Safety

If you have students who need after‑hours, evening, or weekend access to buildings, please email me their names.
They will only be allowed access with your authorization.

The parking lots are full this year. Please help keep the residence hall parking lots from becoming overcrowded by parking in the lots off Rimrock.

It still feels like summer out there. If you prop doors or open windows, please remember to shut them. As always, do not prop doors that are normally restricted to card access only.

Residence Life

We are excited to welcome two new professional staff members to our department:

Residence Life Coordinator – Jackson Yearta oversees daily residence hall operations, Resident Advisor supervision, programming, and conduct case management.
Housing Operations Coordinator – Gabby Panzetta manages departmental operations,
including communications, Jenzabar processes, and supervision of Night Monitors.

Staff bios and contact information are available on the Residence Life site.

Campus Counselor

The early weeks of the semester can bring emotional swings and a temporary feeling of disorientation.
Frequently signposting support options helps students regain confidence and build steady routines.

Key strategies for faculty and staff:

Repeat guidance: Share resource locations often; disoriented students need multiple
exposures to digest details.
Low‑barrier touchpoints: Use casual events like the Cookie Table and shared meals
to build comfort and connections.
Normalize help‑seeking: Frame asking questions as an active step toward self‑sufficiency.

cynthia.hutchinson@rocky.edu • 406‑657‑1049

Be Well Programming

This year’s programming will feature monthly fireside chats, interactive boards, digital wellness messaging, and events including Speed Friending, Water Wars, College Cooking, Rocky Fit, Consent Connect 4, Bystander Jenga, and the Time to Ungrind Graffiti Board.

Contact Shaydean Saye, Maggie Peckham, or Kim Woeste to collaborate.

More Highlights

94% of Students

said the events they attended positively affected their college experience, and 92% said their participation helped them feel more connected to the RMC community. (HEDS Student Satisfaction Spring 2026)

Career Services Spotlight

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s Job & Club Fair. Lisa is available to bring career‑focused presentations, networking opportunities, and industry guest speakers directly to your classroom.

See Something, Say Something

Report any building safety concerns to Campus Safety at
donald.laux@rocky.edu or 406‑238‑7293.

What Student Life Does

The Student Life programs at Rocky Mountain College enhance the College’s educational offerings by assisting students with co‑curricular matters and contributing to their growth and development beyond the classroom.

Spiritual Life
Career Services
Student Activities
Residence Life
LEAP Office
Counseling Services
Campus Safety
Outdoor Recreation
Food Services
Central Ops
Bookstore
Camps & Conferences