Center for Wellness Promotion

Showing up with purpose: Tomer’s service-driven approach to student wellness

By Megan Khor, Student Communications Assistant for Student Affairs

Guided by service as her core value, Katie Tomer plays a key role in campus student wellbeing. Whether she’s collaborating with colleagues or engaging directly with students, Tomer centers her efforts on creating a University space that fosters growth, connection and holistic health across campus. 

Tomer, associate director for Wellness Promotion Initiatives with the Center for Wellness Promotion, said that service, to her, means not only showing up for others, but doing so in a way “that brings positivity, support, that elevates other people, helps others to rise and to live in their full potential.”

She believes that understanding why you do the work you do makes every action more intentional and meaningful. 

“Sometimes writing an email or report doesn’t feel like the most glamorous thing, but when you see how all those little things add up to something bigger, you feel part of something that is beyond just you as an individual,” Tomer said. “You feel part of something more grand.” 

In her position, Tomer manages leadership team meetings, professional development training sessions, guest lecture presentations, signature event planning and implementation, partnerships with on campus and off campus stakeholders, along with programming and training for the student Peer Health Educators (PHE). 

Known for her consistent initiative, dedication, teamwork and commitment to student development, these were the traits that led her to receive the 2024-2025 Rising Star Award for Student Affairs. 

“It felt so good to be looking at the result of all the hard work and seeing that there is purpose behind it,” Tomer said. “It demonstrated to me that showing up, putting students first, being willing to collaborate and being open to new ideas does pay off and does get acknowledged.” 

She also just earned the distinction of UNC Charlotte Staff Employee of the Year Award in the category of Community and Public Service. 

Empowering Student Growth

Tomer’s journey to Charlotte began while she was studying public health frameworks, health sciences and community health education at the University of Southern Maine (USM). 

Following her education, Tomer gained experience in a variety of roles that helped shape her professional skill set. These included serving as a behavioral and academic coach for college students in Oregon and working for an organization that supported unaccompanied minors entering the U.S. She also worked as an academic advisor and adjunct faculty member at USM.

In addition to these positions, Tomer is also a Nationally Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) as well as a 1,000-hour certified breath work and meditation trainer. 

Having not worked with students for some time, when the role of associate director opened up at Charlotte, she was quick to apply. 

“I thought, wow, this is exactly what I’d love to do,” Tomer said.

Working with students, the PHEs and supporting their growth as a future professional are Tomer’s favorite parts of her job.

Calling on her prior experience as an academic advisor at USM, Tomer discovered that when the PHEs are able to take the lead in a specific area of wellness that connects with their area of study, they are able to feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership with their work.

She designates each of the PHEs to lead a different area of wellness. This includes sexual health, mental health, suicide prevention, interpersonal violence prevention and substance use prevention.

Outside of their work, Tomer frequently offers to review their resumes, write recommendation letters or have one-on-one chats about their goals after college.

“I really appreciate getting to work with the Peer Health Educators,” Tomer said. “It makes such a big difference to be a part of students’ growth and development.” 

Beyond playing a pivotal role in improving the Peer Health Education program, Tomer has also been instrumental in identifying and addressing gaps in student wellness. Through PHE feedback, Tomer learned there was a lack of on-campus programs teaching tangible stress management.

She began to collaborate with the PHEs to host Mindful Monday workshops with students. These taught students how to destress through evidence-based breathing techniques, guided meditation, interactive activities and icebreakers. 

“Every emotion has a corresponding rhythm in the breath,” Tomer said. “When students learn how their breathing pattern can shift or change their emotions, they can shift or change the way they respond to a situation.”

Aside from learning de-stress techniques, these workshops serve as a way for students to build a positive community with one another by encouraging them to bring a friend each time they attend a session. During these sessions, they also discuss topics like how to make a friend, how to care for themselves amidst uncertainty, and how to support other students who may be lonely within the Charlotte community. 

Dimensions of Wellness

Tomer is also part of the Health and Wellbeing Unit team launching the SAMHSA Dimensions of Wellness as the shared framework for health and wellbeing at UNC Charlotte.

The Dimensions are: Emotional, Social, Physical, Intellectual, Spiritual, Financial, Occupational and Environmental Wellness.

“The Dimensions of Wellness is a framework to support student wellbeing from a holistic perspective. It shows that wellness is multi-dimensional and highlights that tending to these different dimensions supports students in thriving at UNC Charlotte,” Tomer said. 

This push forward is rooted in Tomer’s desire to serve students in sustainable, long-term ways. By helping to embed a more holistic approach to wellness in Charlotte’s campus culture, she aims to ensure that care and support are not limited to moments of crisis, but are built into the student experience from the start.  

“When I was an academic advisor … what I would see is that students frequently wouldn’t be able to finish their degree, not because they weren’t capable, but because something related to their wellness or wellbeing was being negatively impacted,” Tomer said. “We want students to arrive and thrive, not just arrive and survive.”