In a homey corner of Grounds for Change, students sat down for a discussion about emotional intelligence on Oct. 25. Led by two faculty members, this discussion sought to provide a space for exploration into how emotions factor into personal and professional growth.
Interim Director of the IDEAS Center Natalie Brown and Wellness Case Manager Joshua Guthrie, ’09, wanted to provide a space where students could have a conversation rather than a lecture. They hoped choosing to have a 100-drink open tab in GFC would encourage a more casual setting for students to open up.
“From my perspective as an alum from ’09, I very much appreciate our Allegheny community and the best way we can maintain and support that community is by us being able to communicate with each other effectively,” Guthrie said. “Emotional intelligence would allow us to do that.”
The discussion began with Guthrie and Brown introducing what emotional intelligence means while also sharing anecdotes of their journey with it.
“It is a sense of awareness, a sense of understanding where emotions are coming from and how to then express those emotions,” Brown said.
Guthrie added that emotional awareness is closely connected to emotional well-being because it ties into how people understand themselves as well as how they process their outside environments.
In explaining their passion for the topic of emotional intelligence to students, Brown and Guthrie refrained from using the word “triggered,” and opted for using “activated,” because of the difference in the connotation of the words.
“I like to incorporate ‘activated’ into my vocabulary,” Brown said. “That person did not pull the trigger and hurt me and it is more so that they activated a feeling in me.”
In relation to the mission of the IDEAS Center, Brown explained that emotional intelligence is part of the more holistic approach to understanding what may arise for students from diverse backgrounds.
“If I can get my students to kind of realize their emotional awareness and how they can better navigate, then they’re able to be a better student or possibly navigate their emotional state a little bit more intelligently,” Brown said.
Guthrie added that when students begin their journey with emotional intelligence, they can achieve greater professional success. In the discussion, he urged students to begin their journey in college because it is the best space to grow in ways that are more than academic.
“I think emotional intelligence is essential in a variety of different areas in your life,” Guthrie said. “Professionally, it allows you to manage relationships with coworkers, foster team building and community.”
Brown said improving on emotional intelligence will facilitate a path to be more successful students.
“I think sometimes we allow our emotions to get the best of us and we are not able to show up — showing up for classes, showing up for friends, showing up for whatever responsibilities you have,” Brown said.
Through the conversations, many students took the opportunity to share their experiences of coping with their emotions, stress and relationships.
Madison Kermis, ’25, shared her experience with participating in the discussion with their peers. Kermis said that her interest in the discussion was partially because they are majoring in Psychology and take an interest in discussions about emotional wellness.
“Overall, I think that the questions were very constructive and opened up a conversation more than questions that could be answered with a yes or no,” Kermis said.
Kermis added that they practice emotional awareness in their life by understanding that emotions are multi-faceted and improving their identification of them.
“Sadness can be defined as a lot of different things, so can anger, so can happiness,” Kermis said. “I think for a really long time in my adolescence, I didn’t understand how to identify my emotions, and I didn’t really understand what I was feeling or why so it starts with identification for me and trying to look at the situation as a whole rather than just that feeling.”
Kermis said she thought holding the event in GFC was a good choice because they have always seen GFC as an inclusive space where anyone can have a conversation and be accepted.
Because Allegheny College is a small campus, Guthrie expressed that, while the difficulty of navigating emotional intelligence is not impacted by the size of the institution, the impact of an informal discussion on emotional intelligence on students is greater and more effective here than if it was had at a larger institution.
“Our small institution does allow us to present emotional intelligence in the unique way that Natalie and I are structuring the session,” Guthrie said.
The emotional intelligence discussion was one out of what will be many sessions. The first session was meant to explain the concept of emotional intelligence to students. Future sessions will have a higher level of complexity, according to Brown and Guthrie.