This FEELed Note was written by Research Affiliates Manuela Rosso and Tom Letcher-Nicholls.
May saw the conclusion of Beyond the Desk, a student-led project co-convened by FEELed Lab members Manuela Rosso and Tom Letcher-Nicholls. We are both incredibly grateful for the support we received in proposing and unfurling this project.
Beyond the Desk specifically sought to bring students together at the FEELed Lab to write, work, and be together in a warm and inclusive space. It was designed with UBC’s Wellbeing Strategic Framework and the Okanagan Charter. These initiatives call for communities of care and resilience.
Our hope was to provide a remedy for barriers that many students face, such as isolation, heavy workloads, transportation challenges, or a lack of spaces that feel genuinely welcoming and supportive.
We therefore focused on creating an open and supportive environment shaped by care, peer connection, and accessibility. Meeting at Woodhaven also allowed students to connect not only with one another, but with place, in a way that felt grounding and different from usual campus routines. In doing so, we remained mindful of our situatedness on Syilx land and aligned with the students and the FEELed Lab’s broader values of relationality, inclusion, and community-engaged practice.
We are very proud because our participants’ feedback was consistently warm and encouraging. We tried to offer a space where students could focus, talk through ideas, and spend time with others in a way that felt meaningful and collective rather than pressured or competitive.
We also appreciated that students participated in different ways. Some came to write or study, while others sewed, crocheted, read poetry, or simply spent time by the water. We were told that this allowed our participants with different needs, goals, energy levels, and intentions to feel comfortable there without needing to justify how they were using the space or how their plans might change.
Our goal is that Beyond the Desk will continue after its official conclusion. Our aim is to generate documentation and reflections that will inform an ongoing and flexible roadmap for future student-led programming.
We are very grateful to all of those who supported us and who attended. Happy Summer!
The FEELed lab 