MWCC’s THRIVE Center

Providing the Support Needed to Help Students Thrive

By Annabelle Kennedy | Observer Contributor

From 8am-4pm, Monday- Friday,  MWCC’s Thrive Center is open and ready to help with any problem you may have to provide support and help you succeed.

Upon walking into the Thrive Center, you will be greeted by administrative assistant, Gwen Budzinski, who also happens to be a MWCC student majoring in Human Services. When the Thrive Retention Center was first thought of it was based on the idea that everyone can succeed at school when provided with tools and support. 

Retention offices in colleges are traditionally only concerned with students who are on academic probation or having other struggles for school. According to Missi Sargent, Dean of Academic Affairs, the Thrive Center at MWCC takes a different approach. “We need to be student ready. We need to be meeting the students where they are at,” Sargent said.

 If you are struggling in a class and are nervous about talking to the teacher, the Thrive Center can facilitate that for you. One of the Academic Coordinators will sit in the meeting with you to help you feel more comfortable. Sometimes they will need to refer you to another department, but Theresa Kacian, Holly Kreidler-Phaneuf, or Sargent will gladly walk you there.

Kacian, an Academic Coordinator at the Center said, “We take a holistic and individual approach as well, everyone’s story is a little bit different.” The Thrive Center strives to be what every student and faculty member needs. “We are always broadening what we do here for students,” Kacian said.

                Teachers can also utilize the office. Kacian said, “We also help faculty. We have a really good relationship with faculty. Faculty referrals became very key during covid.” However Kacian doesn’t see covid as a complete negative. “I see it as a positive for our students, because it pushed us forward in terms of efficiency and technology,” Kacian said.

 The Thrive Center opened in late 2019, just as covid started to be talked about. “Faculty were trying to find students and keep track of them. Where are they? How are they doing? They elicited our help to do that. So that has turned into something really great that we do,” Kacian said.

                Now that everyone is back on campus the Thrive office is looking forward to having students come in and see them face to face. It’s a place where you can have a snack, a chat or get some advice in a safe environment. Kacian shared, “We want this to be a real safe haven for students, they can come in and talk to us about anything.”                 If you have questions and don’t know who to turn to, the Thrive Center will be able to help you find the answer. At the very least they will help you find the person who does have the answer. “What we do is ever changing,[and] we are going to improve all the time at what we are doing,” Kacian said.