Adelphi鈥檚 Mindfulness Center offers students a different way to move through college鈥攇rounded, connected and present. It's a cornerstone of Adelphi's commitment to promoting mental health and well-being and a model for universities nationwide.
On a gray Tuesday afternoon, a handful of students slip into a quiet room on the third floor of the Ruth S. Harley University Center and drop their backpacks by the door. They enter the silence of the Mindfulness Center and sit beneath the room’s canopy, lit by a wall of twinkling lights that change color to set the mood.
As phones go dark and eyes close, Michael Hoffner, the founding coordinator of the center, guides them to be here and in the moment. For half an hour, on a campus and in a culture built on constant doing, the only task is to stop.
Stress Relief From the Pressures of Student Life
College students arrive on campus carrying heavy loads: classes, jobs and family responsibilities. Add pressure to perform well, along with the sense that your future hinges on your actions, and daily life can feel like a pressure cooker.
To address that, many colleges are simply designating “quiet rooms.” But Adelphi has gone a step further by creating a dedicated sanctuary for stress relief. Located within the renovated University Center, the Mindfulness Center鈥攚hich opened in 2022鈥攊s a true retreat featuring soaring ceilings, soft twinkling lights and the calming scent of essential oils. A licensed social worker ordained in the Thich Nhat Hanh鈥檚 Plum Village Buddhist tradition, Hoffner was a natural choice to shape the new center.
鈥淚ntegrating mindfulness into the college experience is something that is valuable on so many levels,鈥� Hoffner said. It can transform 鈥渢he energy of the campus as a whole鈥� when more people show up calmer and more grounded.
The center鈥檚 weekly rhythm is simple: drop鈥慽n mindfulness sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hoffner leads the meditations himself, inviting students to set down their to鈥慸o lists, notice their breathing and rest.
For many, that鈥檚 an unfamiliar experience.
At Adelphi, Achieving Mindfulness Isn鈥檛 a Solitary Pursuit
Paloma Jose-Day, a senior majoring in psychology, first tried mindfulness on her own. Like many people, she quickly ran into frustration. Sitting alone with her thoughts didn鈥檛 feel calming. It felt impossible, even overwhelming.
Coming to the Mindfulness Center changed that. Practicing in a room with others, supported by Hoffner鈥檚 quiet guidance, finally helped her 鈥済et it.鈥� The presence of other students made mindfulness feel less like a private test she was failing and more like a shared practice she could grow into over time.
Jose-Day has been going to weekly 30-minute guided sessions at the center since she transferred to Adelphi in Fall 2024. The experience has quietly reshaped her daily habits.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go to the Mindfulness Center to quit my phone, but that鈥檚 what happened,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not reaching for it first thing in the morning anymore. I wake up, stretch, breathe and think about my day instead.鈥� She has stopped doomscrolling while she eats lunch, too, she said. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 eating now, I鈥檓 not looking at my phone. Instead, I鈥檓 actually enjoying my food.鈥�
Achieving mindfulness can even be part of career preparation. Ryan Mijumbi, MA 鈥�24, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, says the techniques he鈥檚 learned at the center will help him in his career.
鈥淭he same mindfulness skills I practice here鈥攂eing aware of myself, the space and the other person鈥攁re exactly what I鈥檒l need in the therapy room with my clients,鈥� he said.
It has also made his life better. 鈥淔or me, the Mindfulness Center is a quiet place where I can step out of the chaos of grad school, breathe and remember that despite everything, it鈥檚 going to be okay,鈥� he explained. 鈥淢indfulness didn鈥檛 help me pass any tests, but it kept me going when grad school stress and burnout were at their worst.鈥�
Weekend 鈥淩etreats鈥濃�擱ight on Campus
Recently, the Mindfulness Center mission has grown.
A weekend mindfulness retreat on campus has drawn about 125 participants over the past two years. Students practice sustained silence, meditation and mindful activities.
An alternative spring break retreat offers an even deeper dive. Hoffner and his team take a small group of students to a Buddhist monastery in the Plum Village tradition. Past trips have gone to retreats in upstate New York and Mississippi. This year, 12 students will spend a week at a monastery in California.
There, they join the daily rhythm of monastic life. Practices that feel strange or uncomfortable to students on the first day often become cherished by the end of the week, Hoffner said. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 time to leave, many students ask the same question: How do I bring this back with me?鈥� he explained.
Building a Mindfulness Community on Campus
Hoffner is now helping launch a mindfulness residential community at Adelphi, bringing together a handful of students to live together on campus. Next year, the program will expand into a full鈥慺ledged community.
鈥淥ur mindfulness practice is not intended for us to escape the world,鈥� Hoffner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually here to help us encounter the world more deeply so that we鈥檙e not running away from the world, we鈥檙e actually leaning in and showing up more fully.鈥�
He hopes his students鈥� experiences will help build a new normal: a community where mindfulness isn鈥檛 an escape hatch, but a way of meeting the world with steadiness, courage and care.