This Presidential Fellow Worked to Increase Mental Health Services for CNM Students, Faculty, and Staff

CNM Faculty Member Kim Giek spent the last year researching and implementing mental health and wellness services on CNM campuses to help create a healthier learning environment
August 31, 2023

Kim Giek has been at CNM for 28 years, so she’s no stranger to the mental health barriers students, faculty, and staff sometimes face. She’s also a licensed counselor, so when she was asked to be the Presidential Fellow for Mental Health and Wellness last year it was an immediate yes.

“There is such a need for these services for everyone on campus, especially in our post-pandemic world,” Kim says. “Having a year to dig deep into this topic and see how we can address these issues we’re all facing was an amazing opportunity.”

During the course of her fellowship, Kim partnered with several other departments to determine the needs of the college and how to address those needs. 

One of the biggest services that Kim, along with the help of Mia Mendoza from Wellness CNM, was able to implement was virtual one-hour seminars presented by the Solutions Group. These virtual sessions were offered to staff and faculty and covered topics including compassion fatigue and imposter syndrome.  

Kim also helped reintroduce a mental health first aid training for faculty and staff that was extremely popular pre-pandemic. 

“When we held these trainings pre-pandemic they would fill up so fast and we couldn’t offer enough sessions,” she says. “Now that we’re post-pandemic we need this training now more than ever, and I’m excited we’re working on bringing it back in full force.”

Even though her fellowship has come to an end, Kim still plans on working in this area. She wants to create a mental health information hub for faculty and staff, house more mental health services on CNM campuses, and host support events specifically for faculty. 

Now that she’s back in the classroom, Kim also wants to encourage everyone to build intra-campus support systems as CNM works to increase and improve its mental health and wellness services. 

“The truth is there is a shortage of counselors and community resources, so in the meantime the best thing we can do is use the resources we have to build up our CNM community and continue to support each other,” she says.