REACH, NYU Abu Dhabi’s peer support group, is an acronym for Raising Empowered Advocates for Community Health. There’s probably a lot more you don’t know about us. To be part of the team, students have to go through a rigorous application process, which includes an online application, a peer recommendation, an interview and finally a group interview. Tina Wadhwa, Associate Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Misconduct Support and the REACH advisor, oversees this process.

The goal of REACH is simple; we strive to create a community in which students support each other, but are also knowledgeable and equipped with tools to help themselves and their community. Our mission is what lies behind our rarely used acronym. REACH initiatives address a wide range of topics, from procrastination and mindfulness to consent and failure, and we often engage in the Health Promotion Office’s larger initiatives, such as Sexual Respect Awareness Week and Love Your Body Week.

One aspect that is critical to REACH is our ongoing training program. We meet regularly for training in peer-to-peer counseling, bystander intervention and engaging weekly role-plays so we can improve our communication skills. Before students can join the Nook, a peer-to-peer counseling program, or lead certain workshops, they have to be deemed proficient enough to provide the help necessary to students who seek it. As the campus grows, so do our initiatives, with new staple programs such as Late-Night DMC — Deep Meaningful Conversation — or Failures Anonymous being introduced each semester.

REACH was founded in fall 2014 because there was only one counselor available due to hiring complications. A group of students met with Dave Tinagero, the former Dean of Students, to discuss a way for the students to provide support to their fellow peers. Tinagero suggested this program to Wadhwa because of her counseling background, and she was thrilled to help create the initiative.

The founders of REACH recognized a problem on campus, and instead of just venting they thought of a creative long-term solution. What started as a response to lack of counselors became an integral part of our community. REACH has grown significantly over the past three years. Now, REACH is part of Marhaba introductions and is often the student reference point even for the New York campus. The members also take on a more professional role by going through a rigorous training process and responding to students’ needs brought up by different groups and the administration.

Once again, we’re trying something new; this piece officially marks our first article in The Gazelle, as part of a larger, recurrent series. We recognize that it can be difficult for even the most health-conscious and interested individuals to reach out face-to-face, so this new platform represents an expansion of REACH’s larger mission. The series will complement the many events and workshops we facilitate throughout the semester. It will address a variety of well-being topics, ranging from the fun and lighthearted, such as how to make healthy midnight snacks or finding your own cozy spot on campus, to the serious and pertinent, like addressing the fear of missing out and elucidating the leave of absence process.

Our hope is that the series stands as a permanent archive that students can access on and off campus, reaching a far wider audience than any single one of our workshops can. Students can feel secure knowing that help is available from both students thoroughly trained in the topics they address and friends they interact with on a daily basis. At the same time, it represents a shared vision of a community where students are healthy, empowered and motivated to accomplish common goals. In this case, The Gazelle and REACH combine forces, striving to give students references and resources to better their time here. Ultimately, this is what REACH is here for: striving to make this campus a better, healthier environment so that students can happily make the most of their experience.