Nurturing Minds and Wellbeing: Holistic Development and Emotional Support at OSP
Gerardo Montalvo
Counselor at OSP 2024
To achieve our mission of fostering an intellectually stimulating and nurturing environment, at the Oxford Scholars Programme (OSP) we believe in the significance of cultivating the wellbeing of our students through-out their experience at Oxford. Therefore, our approach includes the integration of holistic development in the curriculum.
The unique holistic nature of the OSP provides students with the great advantage of self-awareness, which empowers our scholars and allows them to take ownership of themselves, their actions, and their ideas. Additionally, it was clear since the conception of the OSP that to facilitate our scholars from fully benefiting from the fast-paced and academically rigorous curriculum, the OSP would require to provide significant emotional and psychological support.
Therefore, as OSP counsellor, my priority was to ensure the procurement of a safe space for our scholars to thrive and allow their well-rounded growth. This not only required to create a physically safe environment for our students to engage with all planned activities, but also meant that workshops, activities, and interactive learning experiences had to be specifically tailored, focusing on the development of the emotional, mental, social, and intellectual aspects of our scholars.
Providing this support to our scholars was fundamental to their overall experience as it taught them to successfully overcome difficulties and will enable them to achieve all their goals in the coming future.
Lastly, as OSP hosted students from every corner of the world, my role as counsellor also requires to recognise and champion diversity by facilitating the creation of an inclusive environment that was welcoming, respectful, and advocated for inclusivity of all types.