{"id":2854,"date":"2016-02-04T17:16:26","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T17:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/?p=2854"},"modified":"2016-02-04T17:16:26","modified_gmt":"2016-02-04T17:16:26","slug":"student-turns-challenges-into-campus-discussion-on-eating-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/2016\/02\/04\/student-turns-challenges-into-campus-discussion-on-eating-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Turns Challenges into Campus Discussion on Eating Disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Vanessa<\/a>
Vanessa Voller’ 16 hiking the Na\u2019Pali coast in Kaua\u2019i<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Montana Bass \u201918<\/b><\/p>\n

When I walk in to Sacred Grounds, a student-run tea house inside Shove Memorial Chapel, Vanessa Voller \u201916 immediately shows me to an assortment of teas, puts on water, and makes sure I\u2019m comfortable. In less than a minute, she has already impressed me with her obvious kindness and the comforting sense of calm she carries with her.<\/p>\n

She is a sociology major and an avid hiker from St. Paul, Minnesota. Next block, she will facilitate an inaugural three-day event series during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week to raise awareness about disordered eating and eating disorders on college campuses. Events will include keynote lectures and book signings by Jenni Schaefer and Anita Johnston, two prominent scholars and activists in the field; a documentary screening and discussion about eating disorders in diverse communities; trainings and workshops for Athletics Department and residential life staff; and free assessments and referrals by specialists from the Eating Disorder Center of Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2005, when I was just 11 years old,\u201d says Voller. \u201cI was physically and mentally ill for nearly a decade, losing my early and late adolescence to my mental illness.\u201d We are sitting on colorful, plush cushions when I ask what motivated her to dedicate so much time and effort to this cause. She began her answer very simply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fortunate enough to have access to help at the Emily Program in St. Paul, one of the best centers for eating disorders in the country. There, I attended intensive out-patient therapy, group therapy, and family therapy sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though at a more stable weight, Voller admits that her mental health continued to suffer throughout her first three years at CC. Now during her last semester, she is determined to spread awareness about this deadly mental illness. \u201cThe most important thing for me for people to know is that healing and recovery is possible. I think if someone had said that to me when I was 11 or even a first-year at CC it wouldn\u2019t have taken a decade to ultimately be freed from my own mental illness,\u201d she pauses, waiting for me to look up, \u201cmake sure you get that down,\u201d she adds taking a long sip of her chamomile tea.<\/p>\n

The three-day NEDA week event series, says Voller, is the culmination of her own recovery process. It is also her senior capstone project for the Community Engaged Leadership Certificate program, supervised by David Harker, director of the Collaborative for Community Engagement and an extension of her recent Venture Grant supervised by Associate Professor of Sociology Kathy Giuffre. Voller received a Venture Grant to spend her winter break hiking the Na\u2019Pali coast in Kaua\u2019i and interviewing Hawaiian cultural experts and medical staff at Hawaii\u2019s only residential eating disorder clinic, Ai\u2019Pono.<\/p>\n

The Kalalau Trail she hiked is one of the \u201cTop Ten Most Dangerous in the U.S.\u201d according to National Geographic<\/i>. Despite various setbacks, including a flash flood, Voller ultimately completed the 22-mile trek, during which she said she was reminded of her own recovery journey. \u201cAt mile two on the hike, at the Hanakap\u2019ai Stream, I faced incredibly dangerous, chest deep waters. A local park ranger told me that I had to turn around and wait out the flash flood because crossing could be deadly. I immediately thought of my childhood therapist, holding my 11-year-old hand saying, \u2018Vanessa, if you continue with this behavior you could die.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI began the hike alone,\u201d she says, \u201cthinking that I didn\u2019t need anyone or any help. But honestly, it was quite bold to think I didn\u2019t need anyone.\u201d She sets her mug down, \u201cAfter the flash floods I befriended three other hikers and we traversed the rest of the coastline together.\u201d She adds, \u201cYou know, almost everyone I met during my travels was healing from something<\/i>: a failed marriage, an addiction, the loss of a loved one.\u201d<\/p>\n

After her hike, Voller traveled to the Ai\u2019Pono clinic in Maui. \u201cI read \u2018Eating by the Light of the Moon\u2019 <\/i>by Anita Johnston when I was in treatment and it profoundly impacted me,\u201d she says. Voller speaks of Johnston with intense admiration. \u201cAnita is a remarkable woman; a true healer. An inspiration. She will do wonders for our community and I am honored that she is taking time to visit us.\u201d<\/p>\n

This block, Voller is in an independent study with Giuffre focused on writing an auto-ethnographic memoir chronicling her recovery journey through the lens of her backpacking trip. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what will happen with the manuscript when the block is over,\u201d she says, \u201cbut for right now, I\u2019m just focused on exploring my own creative writing process and crafting a new narrative of hope and of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information on NEDA week<\/a>, which will be Tuesday, Feb. 23, to Thursday, Feb. 25, is coming soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montana Bass \u201918 When I walk in to Sacred Grounds, a student-run tea house inside Shove Memorial Chapel, Vanessa Voller \u201916 immediately shows me to an assortment of teas, puts on water, and makes sure I\u2019m comfortable. In less than a minute, she has already impressed me with her obvious kindness and the comforting sense … <\/p>\n

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