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Jun 04, 2022
Growth and Resilience to Serve
by Yashasvi Yadav, student leader I got involved in Student Open Circles in the fall term after the pandemic started. In the midst of persistent lockdowns, global grief surrounding COVID-19 ...
Jun 04, 2022
Photo Gallery: recent Open Circle events
Our recent Open Circle stress-reduction event included a guided nature hike, mindful walking, creative movement, and other reflection practices to help students navigate a demanding school term.
Jun 04, 2022
Addressing the Pandemic's widening Gap
by Paul Jung, student leader Children and youth from low-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to an increasing reliance on the internet for learning and ...
Jun 04, 2022
Connecting through Service
by Matthew Markou, student leader Near the beginning of the pandemic, I worked at a retirement community and saw firsthand how isolated many seniors felt from not being able to ...
Mar 10, 2022
Newsletter: March 2022
Student Open Circles is committed to the well-being of young people. As Amanda describes, we help students to discover, care for, and grow into wholeness of soul, self, spirit, and ...
Mar 09, 2022
Promoting Positive Mental Health
by Amanda Backal, student leader Student Open Circles has had a profoundly positive impact on my life and my university experience. It's extremely clear how devoted the instructors are to ...
Mar 09, 2022
Volunteering and Reflecting Made Me a Better Doctor
by Sylvia Botchway, Student Open Circles alumni and Board member I joined Student Open Circles in 2011 mainly for volunteer experience, not knowing how much it was going to change ...
Mar 09, 2022
Learning to Take a Breath
by Apurva Dixit, student My first experience with Open Circle was about 2 years ago when one of my friends encouraged me to sign up for the Becoming Yourself Series ...
Mar 09, 2022
Becoming Kind to Myself
by Hani Choksi, student leader My introduction to the Becoming Yourself Series came about when I first became a volunteer group facilitator during my 3rd year at McMaster. One week ...
Mar 09, 2022
Oh, the fun we have on Zoom!
The above photo is from a Zoom meeting with some of our student leaders who help plan Open Circle events. One student leader shared: “Something that I love about our ...