When Diamond Bar High School students find themselves stressed from academic demands or extracurricular activities, the Wellness Matters club seeks to educate its members about the importance of emotional well-being.

Wellness Center advisor Sandy Davis originally proposed the idea for Wellness Matters in early September as a way to branch out from the Wellness Center and Peer Counseling.

“Our club’s mission is basically to educate and spread more awareness about emotional and physical wellness for our students,” senior president Janice Kwon said.  

Emotional wellness focuses on stress management and also the management of one’s emotions. Physical wellness applies to sleep deprivation and its effects on students.

According to Kwon, the club differs from both the Wellness Center and Peer Counseling in that the Wellness Center offers one-on-one counseling for students while Peer Counseling prepares its students to develop the skills to counsel someone.

Meanwhile, Wellness Matters provides opportunities for its members to get involved in helping out the various events planned by the Wellness Center and Peer Counseling.

During each general meeting held twice a month in the Golden Horseshoe, the club discusses topics such as feeling identification, where they teach members how to cope with and manage their emotions.

In the future, Kwon hopes to cover controversial topics such as drug abuse, dating violence and self-harm.

Senior vice president Marissa Singh hopes to discuss grief and ways to process it individually or help others with it.

After educating its members, the club hosts activities and games such as a mood-based version of Four Corners that supplement the topics covered.

Later in the year, the club hopes to allow students to help out in the upcoming DB Forum event and the Kindness Week campaign.

Kwon and Singh expected 20 to 30 members, but were surprised when 50 to 60 students signned up. They consider this to be a challenge and accomplishment.

“We weren’t originally expecting that big of an outcome, so it surprised us because we weren’t prepared for it, but we’ve gotten used to it and we’ve adapted to it,” Kwon said.

Kwon hopes the Wellness Matters club will help students realize that there is a place they can go to for support.

“I really hope for the Wellness Matters club to grow in independence…and become a huge big thing and be just as equal to the Peer Counseling program and Wellness [Center] program, as opposed to being a sister,” Singh said.