Students at Ferris State University’s Grand Rapids campus have been asking for a space for decompressing from the stresses of school, and the university will open that space on September 3.
On September 2, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Ferris State University will host an open house for its new Grand Rapids/KCAD Wellness Room.
In an article posted on Ferris State’s website, the University’s director of Counseling and Anti-Violence Prevention Program, Andrew Slater, noted that the requests for a space like this began coming in during the fall of 2025. He realized he had been traveling to Grand Rapids more often than normal, and students were telling him that they needed a calm space to be able to sit with their emotions.
A wellness room is a space that provides a private and quiet space where someone can manage mental or physical health needs, reduce stress, and rest. These rooms can be found in workplaces and schools, and help the people using them process overwhelming emotions, regain focus, and calm down, before they return to their normal activities.
Ferris’ director of Student Engagement and Student Life in Grand Rapids, Nicole DeKraker, noted that the University's office assignment had changed this year to accommodate the new Grand Rapids hub. As the school’s counseling operation moved out of its space at the top floor, the room that will now be used as the wellness room opened up.
Ferris’ Kendall College of Art and Design previously had a wellness room until it closed in 2018 when the school consolidated offices at its Grand Rapids campus to align its student life operations with its Big Rapids campus. DeKraker noted that the reopening of the wellness room represents an expansion of student resources in Grand Rapids.
The room was built by Kelsey Feutz who serves as personal counselor and assistant professor at Ferris. Kelsey started designing the room in March, and constructed it over the course of the summer using repurposed materials from other offices.
The centerpiece of the room arrived in the same manner. Megan Horn, who works for the Disability and Accessibility Resource Center, noted that a nap pod was on its way to a storage facility, told the team at Ferris about it, and DeKraker was able to bring it to the Grand Rapids Campus instead.
Speaking about the nap pod, Feutz noted, "It kind of looks like a spaceship. It's something you can lay down on, and it's got a big circular screen you can pull out in front, so you don't see anything else around you. It also has built-in speakers and lights."
Many of the other larger pieces of furniture in the room came from the library. The room also has art supplies, kinetic sand, and fidgets that came from Slater’s office. A set of plushies depicting characters from the movie “Inside Out” were donated to the room by a Ferris student.
The room has a screen over the window, low light bulbs, and oil diffusers in order to create a calm environment. A cabinet stores calming activities as well as materials from the Anti-Violence Alliance and the Personal Counseling Center. One of the walls is covered in butcher block paper where students utilizing the room can draw or leave messages for other students. Feutz clears the wall when the paper is filled.
There has been a wellness room near the Personal Counseling Center at the Big Rapids campus of Ferris for the past several years.
Feutz used that fact to highlight the need for such a room in Grand Rapids, saying, "It just shows how important the Grand Rapids campus is to the university. This was a big need."
Feutz serves as the Grand Rapids campus counselor and serves almost 600 students.
"Sometimes you don't need any people around. Sometimes you don't want even someone to listen. Sometimes you just need a place that you can chill out in and not worry about anyone bothering you,” said Feutz.
Grand Rapids’ wellness room is located on the first floor of the Kendall Building, 17 Fountain Street, in the North Success Hub, Room 102K. It is about 130 square feet in size and normally stays locked. Students interested in using it must first ask at the hub desk to be let in. The room is available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. No more than three students are allowed in the room at any given time.
Slater talked about how students might take advantage of the room, saying, "Use it for studying, use it for thinking and feeling, crying, resetting, relaxing, napping, eating your lunch. We're just hoping the students know that it's there and they use it."
Currently the main wall of the wellness room is white, and Ferris State University is looking for a student to create a mural for it. The call for a mural begins Thursday, September 3, and runs through October 12. Any student at Ferris State University may apply, either as a solo artist or as a team. Interested students must submit mockups, a written vision, and a timeline.
The submissions will be reviewed by School of Art assistant professor, Paige Young, as well as Slater, Feutz, and DeKracker. The winner will be announced on October 16, and will paint their mural between the 26th and the 30th.
Slater emphasized the importance of the mural, saying, "This is a really big deal, and potentially a first major milestone in a lot of these young artists' careers."
The office has noted that it plans to have a new mural painted periodically over the years so that a new group of students can share the same opportunities.
Feutz spoke more about the mural, saying, "It really can't get much better to work with these art students and have them do basically art therapy for themselves in this space, and have that be on display for anyone who needs to use the room."
Ferris State University has a Mental Health Support Line that runs constantly and is staffed by licensed clinicians. The number for the support line is (231) 591-HELP (4357).
Kendall College of Art and Design has trained designers and artists in Grand Rapids for almost 100 years. More information about the college can be found here. The college is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design which is the only art and design accreditor that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Ferris State University has been designated as an “Opportunity University” in the new Carnegie Callifications, which notes accessible institutions who graduate students who earn more throughout their careers than graduates from peer organizations. More information about Ferris State University can be found at the school’s website.