Today's Update: Wednesday, October 8, 2025

October 8, 2025

Dear Student Life team,

Fall Break is coming up next week on Thursday and Friday, October 16 and 17, and making it this far in the semester is something to celebrate!  

The break is designed to give students a chance to take a breather midway through the semester, and I think it’s also an important time for our team to catch our breath as well. 
 
As I do every year, I encourage you to do all you can to simplify your schedules to the best of your ability over Thursday and Friday. If you have a meeting or task that’s not critical, postpone it. If you are thinking of trying to schedule a meeting because the days look open, don’t (and by the way, meeting-free Friday is always encouraged!). If you have the opportunity to take a wellness moment, do it. If you’re planning to take the days to get through a ton of email, use the delay-send feature in case others might be planning to take vacation days.  

The point is that self-care while at work is important and I urge everyone, including supervisors, to get creative with how to do this for our teams and for ourselves, especially for those whose schedules aren’t as flexible. Our work must continue regardless of the break, but having significantly fewer people on campus should mean less hectic days for all of us. Please take advantage of these moments, when you can, to breathe. 

I’ll try to do my part, including skipping next Friday’s High Five message. Consider this a collective High Five to all of you for reaching this point in the semester so successfully.  

Have a Scarlet and Great Fall Break, and don’t forget to GO BUCKS! 

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD 
Senior Vice President for Student Life  
The Ohio State University