Hertie School students are no strangers to a stressful day. MPP second year student Yaser has three essays, one presentation and one project proposal due, and is also working part-time while studying.
“It’s manageable,” he says.
First year MPP student Deannea Lugue says the overwhelming challenge of climate change is a continual worry. “There is no real strategic solution to developing a global policy about climate change,” she says. “It stresses me out.”
While smoothies and pumpkin carving are not going to fix climate change, they are a great way to relax between the bustle of classes, deadlines and life. On Wednesday and Thursday this week students took a break from the daily grind for the second Hertie School De-Stress Fest. Activities included stress management workshops, yoga, arts and crafts, adult colouring, smoothie station, healthy breakfasts and more.
“We just wanted to give students a break, especially after their mid-terms last week”, said Judith Zyalla-Wöllner from Student Affairs. “We wanted them to focus on something fun and to meet other students in a different context outside of the classroom.”
Sitting in the cafeteria surrounded by carved pumpkins and healthy breakfast left-overs, Yaser observes that there is so much positivity in life that we don’t look at.
“I’m from the Middle East so I’m pretty used to a rough political climate. Living somewhere like Germany, when I look around it actually helps me to de-stress. There are lots of positive things here. Election results are not exactly what I would have hoped for personally, but at the same time it’s people democratically expressing themselves, so I look at it from that perspective, and I believe life is cyclical so that doesn’t stress me too much.”
