Students set their sights at Vision Board Night
For students feeling overwhelmed with the beginning of a new semester, Vision Board Night gave them a chance to catch a break and visualize their goals.
The event was hosted in the TSC Ballroom by the USUSA Series Committee as part of Welcome Back Week. Zach Bone serves as director of the committee. With a team of 14 members, they plan around 20 events throughout the school year.
Last spring semester, the committee hosted a collage-making night. Keeping with a creative, hands-on idea, they decided to change things up a bit.
“We saw how successful that was, so we wanted to frame it and make it our own,” Bone said. “So, with vision boards being a very trendy thing right now and people setting goals, it was a very fitting thing.”
Students were provided with a variety of paper, stickers, paint and other creative materials to bring their vision boards to life.
Payton Richins is a freshman who attended Vision Board Night with her friend.
“I think it’s fun because you’re not necessarily planning out your year, but you just kind of put down on a piece of paper what you want your year to look like,” Richins said. “I think it’s inspiring because it helps you want to reach those goals.”
Richins said her goal for the new semester is to really focus on her classes.
The Series Committee began planning the Vision Board Night in November of last year. Bone credits the committee members as being the brains of the operation.
“With any event that we plan, there’s a couple of key components that we want to make sure we’re hitting,” Bone said. “One: Is it an activity that really any student on campus could come and participate in?”
Second, the committee makes an effort to plan events that differ from the large, high-energy events some students may not enjoy.
“We get the opportunity to plan events that are different from the Howl or the End of Year Bash,” Bone said. “So, we look at something like that. What’s different? What have we not done before on campus?”
Bone said there were many different events the committee could have chosen to welcome students back with but hopes students found value from creating their vision boards.
“I hope they take them home and hang them up somewhere, and six months from now, they can say ‘Oh, I’ve done that,’ and it all started here,” Bone said. “And they can take away that tangible thing with them that reminds them of this fun memory they’ve had tonight.”
Bone said having the opportunity to put forth the visions of the committee members and guiding their community is what he loves and has a heart for all of the students.
“I truly believe that the events we’re putting on really do have an impact on the student body here,” Bone said. “To be able to give students a break from their homework — their studies — to just come and enjoy a couple of hours away from their books — I think it goes a long way in terms of mental health.”
It’s not uncommon for students to experience a sense of burnout during the winter months. USU participates in a biennial Healthy Minds Study where students have the opportunity to take an online survey that helps the university understand what mental-health-related issues students are experiencing.
According to the data from the 2023-2024 report, 38% of participants experienced moderate or severe depressive symptoms, and 34% experienced moderate or severe anxiety symptoms.
Bone said he enjoys seeing students who may be struggling to find an outlet in the events they host, giving them the opportunity to meet new people.
“The college-life experience — it’s so much more than just studying for an exam,” Bone said.
Brinley Burgon, senior majoring in psychology and criminal justice, was another student who attended Vision Board Night, and she found it to be helpful to her beginning of the semester stress.
“It’s such a fun environment,” Burgon said. “Especially with classes starting up, everyone’s already feeling the stress, and so I feel like it’s a good way to kind of unwind.”