Big exams around the corner. FINALS! Lots of stress. Students are working hard to fill in all the missing spaces in their knowledge while also contending with their own mental health.

So this year we did something new: “Extended Office Hours”. I showed up for a special extra office hours session and the students took to the white boards to solve physics problems and ask difficult questions, BUT, we also:

• Brought in an external expert on fun, Assistant Professor EmmaRose Wright (my soon to be ten-year-daughter).
• Brought in my two guinea pigs, Pepper and Fred. (I also learned that they are food in Ecuador, tasty.)
• Made slime
• Ate Pizza
• Manicures
• Chaos

We had about 20-30 students show up. We spent about 60% of the time working on physics and 40% of the time de-stressing. There were many difficult questions asked.

I walked around between four or five spaces in the physics department where students were working. Some students used the opportunity to approach me one on one to ask a question or two.

This was great because I was able to address multiple things at once. Ranging from students who are well-prepared but have too much stress to students who are in trouble in the class, and need a good final exam score to help them out. They need different messages! Getting to isolate them one-on-one or in small groups allowed me to give those messages to the right groups.

Finals suck – for everyone involved. But there were so many smiles tonight. I was able to relax and laugh with the students. I was so proud of watching EmmaRose chatting with students and making them slime. Rosie had a wonderful time! As students were walking out I heard some say, “Thank you Wright, I needed this.” Back to studying but maybe a little less stress.

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