Lawrenceville Kicks Off 2025 with a Focus on Wellness

Lawrenceville is beginning 2025 with a week dedicated entirely to student wellness. From January 9-16, the School will offer a range of activities, interspersed with regular classes, designed to help Lawrentians enhance their physical and mental wellbeing. Expanding on previous initiatives, Wellness Week aims to provide the community with opportunities to explore, learn about, and practice habits that promote holistic health.

“By creating space for deeper engagement, Wellness Week aims to inspire action and reflection, equipping us all to better balance the many aspects of a healthy, fulfilling life,” said Lindsay Mulhern, associate dean of students.

The week’s schedule includes a choice of nearly 40 workshops led by students and community members, designed to balance meaningful conversations with creative action. Facilitators were tasked with developing sessions that combine central questions and discussions with hands-on projects, skills, or tangible takeaways.

Other highlights include a Wellness Fair, where students can explore wellness resources, activities, and giveaways, as well as an all-School Feed and dance. A key event of the week is a talk by wellness advocate Chris Herren, accompanied by a screening of his film, “Unguarded.” Herren, a former professional basketball player, has become a leading voice in substance use prevention. Since 2009, he has spoken to over two million students, athletes, and community members, sparking honest discussions about substance use disorder and wellness.

“Substance use is a key topic in any student wellness program. We chose Chris Herren because we felt his life experiences would resonate with our student population. His national fame and the feedback we have received from peer schools made him an easy choice. Chris’ life mission is to educate on the importance of wellness, and we feel his program will offer a strong experience for our community,” said Holli Olson, assistant dean of students.

Both deans praised Student Council Wellness Representative Naija King ’25 and the entire student Wellness Council for their outstanding contributions to planning the week’s events.

“Naija has been a central partner in planning Wellness Week; she brings the student lens and understands what our student population is looking for. She has helped to lead the Wellness Council, and you will see her presence and the Council’s throughout the week. They will be leading workshops and the Wellness Fair. We are so excited to see them come to the forefront of the program,” said Olson.

Ultimately, Mulhern emphasized that the overall goal of the week is to help students understand that wellness comes in many forms. “Allowing the community time and space to engage in varying elements of wellness can only help them find the balance we all need,” she said.

Wellness Week is part of the School’s broader commitment to helping students cultivate a healthy sense of well-being. This effort emphasizes learning from challenges, identifying new strengths, and activating skills that equip students to navigate life’s ups and downs.

See more photos from Wellness Week 2025 on Lawrenceville's Flickr page. 

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For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H’17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.