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Emerging	Perspectives	
ep.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca	

 
 

Supporting Student Wellness to Enable Resiliency During the COVID-19 
Pandemic 

 
Lisa Marie Taylor 1 

 
University of Calgary 

 
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique time, requiring flexibility to adapt 
to evolving circumstances. The shift from being fully immersed as a doctoral 
student on campus, to being a full-time mother and online student at home and 
largely isolated, was a significant and challenging change. Paradoxically, I was 
filled with gratitude for additional immediate family time while I also felt incredible 
stress due to a lack of dedicated professional time. Determined to persevere, I 
embraced three strategies that fostered my resilience during the COVID-19 
pandemic: (1) listening to course content; (2) dedicating time to daily physical 
activity; and (3) spending time outdoors. Moving forward, I will continue to 
prioritize my wellness by embracing the strategies identified here, and I encourage 
universities to explore how student wellness can be more comprehensively and 
proactively supported. 
 
Keywords: graduate student, resilience, COVID-19, wellness, physical activity, 
outdoors, text-to-speech. 
 
Taylor, L. M. (2021). Supporting student wellness to enable resiliency during the 
Covid-19 pandemic. Emerging Perspectives, 5(2), 1-5.  

 
 

When COVID-19 hit Alberta, I was in my first year of doctoral studies in the Werklund 
School of Education at the University of Calgary. At the time, I was a research assistant, a teaching 
assistant, instructing two Kinesiology courses, taking two campus-based courses, and volunteering 
as a health promotion coordinator in a Calgary school. My partner was working in a downtown 
office and our three-year-old daughter attended daycare fulltime.  

In the year that followed, my everyday bore no resemblance to the graduate student life I 
once knew. Due to intermittent lockdowns and concern for contracting and spreading COVID-19 
to vulnerable family members, my immediate family isolated; my husband and I worked from 
home and my daughter was taken out of daycare. Paradoxically, I felt so grateful for the time with 
my daughter as her primary caregiver, while I also felt profound stress from the piling up of 
professional to-do items. I would multitask Zoom meetings with my daughter beside me, 
occupying her attention with screens and toys. I felt pulled in two directions: saddened and guilty 
for not investing in quality time with my daughter and stressed for not devoting time to my 
professional demands. Additionally, I felt as though I lacked time to myself - time to invest in my 
own wellness. Despite my flexible and accommodating supervisor and course instructors, my 

 
1 lisamarie.taylor@ucalgary.ca  
 



Taylor – Emerging Perspectives (2021)  2 

partner, who worked diligently to support me when not obligated by his own professional schedule, 
and the generous intermittent support of my daughter’s grandparents, I felt a high degree of stress. 
However, with long-term goals set on a tenure track position, I was determined to persevere. 

The purpose of this article is to introduce three strategies that I have used, and continue to 
use, to support my wellness during the pandemic and that have allowed me to be productive as a 
graduate student. I believe that by sharing these strategies, other graduate students might feel 
encouraged to adopt or adapt these strategies to support their own wellness, specific to their 
context. The three strategies I have used to facilitate my resilience during the pandemic include 
listening to course readings, dedicating time to daily physical activity, and spending time outdoors. 

Strategy One - Listening to Course Content 

In the past, I have enjoyed listening to audiobooks in my car on the way to work. One day 
it dawned on me that perhaps audiobook-like technology, where my mobile device reads desired 
text aloud, might be available to listen to pdfs in a similar fashion. After some Googling, I found 
several text-to-speech applications available for iPhone (e.g., NaturalReader) and Android (e.g., 
@Voice Aloud Reader). Using Bluetooth technology to connect my phone and vehicle speakers, 
I became more time efficient by listening to course content while driving.  

Listening to course content also enables me to move my body and complete house chores 
while learning; I often plug in one headphone while walking my dog, tending to the lawn, 
shoveling snow, or doing laundry. Listening to literature enables active time which directly works 
against the negative effects of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity on physical health 
(Warburton et al., 2006a), while also allowing me to be more efficient. I use other applications on 
my phone to record voice memos (ex. Easy Voice Recorder or Otter) when I want to build on or 
highlight the content I listen to. Recording voice memos replaces the side column notes and 
highlighting I typically do when reading articles on my computer or on printed paper. Later, when 
I return to my computer, I listen to and type out the recorded notes, or copy and paste a transcription 
of the recording (app dependent) into a Google Doc. Worthy of mentioning, headphones with 
microphone and start/stop button features make listening and recording voice memos quite 
seamless.  

Strategy Two - Dedicating Time to Daily Physical Activity 

Physical activity is an investment in myself; it allows me to be my best me and benefits my physical 
and mental well-being (Mandolesi et al., 2018). When I have been active, I feel good, which is no 
surprise given physical exercise can improve mood, reduce anxiety, and foster general well-being 
(Mandolesi et al., 2018). I enjoy walking, running, and biking indoors and outdoors year-round, 
rowing indoors, ice skating, resistance training, and cross-country skiing.  

According to the World Health Organization (2020), optimal health benefits for adults can 
be realized with approximately 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, 
where moderate physical activity (55% to 69% of HRmax), and vigorous physical activity (70% to 
89% of HRmax), are calculated in relation to maximum heart rate (HRmax) which is roughly 
determined by subtracting age in years from 226, or 220 for men (Warburton et al., 2006b). While 
my heart rate is tracked by a strap around my chest that is connected to my phone, I prefer to listen 
to the needs of my body and invest the effort necessary to relieve perceived stress. During the 
pandemic, I have found that vigorous physical activity best supports my wellness, which is 
consistent with findings that post-secondary students who are vigorously active are less likely to 
report perceived stress (VanKim & Nelson, 2013). However, as a graduate student with a family, 
it can be challenging to find time to dedicate to physical activity; what works for me is committing 



Taylor – Emerging Perspectives (2021)  3 

to being physically active every day and engaging in that physical activity first thing in the morning 
while the rest of the house is still sleeping. 

Strategy Three - Spending Time Outdoors 

I have also increased the time I spend outdoors as a strategy to manage stress and support 
my wellness. Individuals only need 20 to 30 minutes in nature to benefit from a significant 
reduction in stress (Hunter et al., 2019). Living in an inner-city community, I primarily utilize 
geographically accessible pathways and nearby parks and water bodies to find my connection to 
the great outdoors. I am often in awe of the vastness of the water reservoir or the sparkle of the 
stars when I go for a walk or a run in the dark. These opportunities and feelings of awe foster a 
connectedness to nature and a sense of eudaimonia (Capaldi et al., 2015). My daughter and I also 
enjoy venturing outdoors together daily, making the most of the full-time hours we enjoy together 
at home due to the pandemic; we often stop to marvel at the complex network of branches by 
looking straight up a spruce tree trunk, or we follow the bright glow of the moon at dusk.  

I spend time outdoors by converting regular indoor activities to regular outdoor activities 
as well, offering more spontaneous moments of awe and positively effecting well-being (Anderson 
et al., 2018). I enjoy drinking my coffee in the warmth of the morning sun. I also enjoy working 
on my laptop outdoors in temperature above 10°C, on a plywood desktop propped up by two 
barstools. My daughter and I read books, play games, and solve puzzles - all outdoors. We embrace 
the Norwegian proverb, “det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær,” meaning there is no bad 
weather, just inappropriate gear (Nikel, 2017). Whether in t-shirts and shorts or in snowsuits and 
toques, there are few days of the year we do not venture outdoors.  

The Trifecta 

I am most productive and efficient with my time when I combine the three strategies 
discussed above. I find that being active outdoors is freeing, allows me to continue to challenge 
and develop my physical literacy, and is more enjoyable in comparison to exercising indoors. 
While being physically active, I also enjoy the silence that follows a completed reading/listening, 
which is a time when I often conceive new ideas and connections between topics; a notion that is 
supported by the positive effect of physical exercise on cognitive and executive functioning 
(Mandolesi et al., 2018). Embracing physical activity outdoors while listening to readings has 
allowed me to continue to be productive as a professional, while prioritizing my wellness.  

Final Thoughts: Technology, Privilege, and Student-defined Support 

The technology and tools identified in this article are available to me due to my family’s 
position of privilege; I am fortunate to be able to afford the materials and services that support my 
learning and well-being. I encourage post-secondary institutions to continue to explore an open-
minded and multidimensional approach to supporting student wellness. In addition to important 
supports that help manage illness such as covering costs of medication and counselling, are there 
opportunities to support a more salutogenic and proactive approach to wellness and student health 
care coverage?  

Especially for full-time graduate students, who depend on highly competitive scholarships 
and have limited incomes, one might inquire as to how a university might monetarily support a 
proactive approach to student wellness. I envision subsidization for students to purchase tools and 
services that can enable wellness activities, such as a bike, headphones, or snow apparel that I have 
mentioned in this article. However, the strategies mentioned in this brief are specific to what 



Taylor – Emerging Perspectives (2021)  4 

benefits my individual feelings of wellness. Wellness is multidimensional and nuanced (Eberst, 
1984); students should define for themselves what they require to support their wellness, 
honouring their varying cultural definitions and perspectives regarding wellness. Perhaps, instead 
of specifically defining what can and cannot be covered through a student health care plan, ask 
why and listen. Yarning materials (Towney, 2005), colouring materials (Dresler & Perera, 2019), 
or claiming mileage to volunteer at an animal shelter (Friedmann et al., 2015), could all be included 
in a list of what is considered for subsidization to support student wellness. I encourage universities 
to re-evaluate how they can proactively support multidimensional wellness so students can be 
resilient, persevere, and achieve their academic potential. 

 
References 

Anderson, C. L., Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe in nature heals: Evidence from 
military veterans, at-risk youth, and college students. Emotion, 18(8), 1195–1202. 
https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000442     

Capaldi, C., Passmore, H.-A., Nisbet, E., Zelenski, J., & Dopko, R. (2015). Flourishing in nature: 
A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing 
intervention. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(4), 1–16. 
https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v5i4.449 

Dresler, E., & Perera, P. (2019). ‘Doing mindful colouring’: Just a leisure activity or something 
more? Leisure Studies, 38(6), 862–874. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2019.1583765 

Eberst, R. M. (1984). Defining health: A multidimensional model. Journal of School Health, 
54(3), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.1984.tb08780.x 

Friedmann, E., Son, H., & Saleem, M. (2015). The animal-human bond: Health and wellness. In 
A. H. Fine (Ed.), Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: Foundations and guidelines for 
animal-assisted interventions (4th ed., pp. 73–88). Academic Press. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801292-5.00007-9 

Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y.-P. (2019). Urban nature experiences reduce stress 
in the context of daily life based on salivary biomarkers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 
722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722 

Mandolesi, L., Polverino, A., Montuori, S., Foti, F., Ferraioli, G., Sorrentino, P., & Sorrentino, 
G. (2018). Effects of physical exercise on cognitive functioning and wellbeing: 
Biological and psychological benefits. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. 
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509 

Nikel, D. (2017). Moon Oslo. Avalon Publishing. 
Towney, L. M. (2005). The power of healing in the yarn: Working with Aboriginal men. The 

International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 2005(1), 39–44. 
VanKim, N. A., & Nelson, T. F. (2013). Vigorous physical activity, mental health, perceived 

stress, and socializing among college students. American Journal of Health Promotion, 
28(1), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.111101-QUAN-395 

Warburton, D. E. R., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. D. (2006a). Health benefits of physical 
activity: The evidence. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 801–809. 
https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.051351 



Taylor – Emerging Perspectives (2021)  5 

Warburton, D. E. R., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. D. (2006b). Prescribing exercise as 
preventive therapy. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(7), 961–974. 
https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.1040750 

World Health Organization. (2020). Physical activity. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/physical-activity 


