Picture this: you walk into a room and you see stacks of books, snacks, armchairs, shelves lined with an assortment of stress-relieving tools and activities –– fidgets, puzzles, coloring pages, kinetic sand, origami, slime and art supplies. The walls here are adorned with banners and posters with motivational messages. Congratulations –– you’re in Los Altos High School’s new Wellness center, Eagle Escape.

Nestled behind the LAHS library, Eagle Escape provides students with reprieve from the demands of academic life. The wellness center allows students to take a break, practice self-care and check up on their mental health.

“There’re a lot of self-sufficient activities that can help you cope with your anxiety or stress,” Eagle Escape supervisor Juan Arreola explains.

“I don’t think it’s selfish to want to take a break for a while, because it really contributes to having a good high school experience,” freshman Ella Omura said.

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Visiting Eagle Escape

Eagle Escape is open every day from 8:30 a.m. to the end of the school day. Students typically visit during break, lunch or their free periods.

Students can also come in for fifteen minutes at a time during any class period if they bring a signed pass from a teacher. If additional time is needed, Eagle Escape supervisors may connect students to a therapist, but students will be marked absent from class after fifteen minutes.

Impact on Mental Health

Arreola urges students to “always put your mental health first.”

“If things don’t feel right for you to do, then you don’t have to do it,” Arreola said. “It’s literally as simple as putting everything you feel is right for you first.”

Eagle Escape is one place to close the divide between school pressure and mental health –– Arreola hopes that while students practice better self-care habits outside, they can come to Eagle escape for a moment of peace, and to step away and regulate themselves in a way that each individual knows best.

“Students are here because they’re feeling stressed out –– they have stuff going on at home, or they just need to catch a break and talk to someone,” Arreola said. “Every student is different.”

Beyond the ambience of the space and resources offered, students receive support from each other’s companionship.

“A lot of people come in here and don’t know each other, and they become friends,” Arreola said. “It’s different friend groups that just meet.”

“Eagle Escape is a lot more socially oriented,” freshman Lillian Liu said. “It’s more of the combination of getting support from fellow students here and therapy.”

When asked about how much social help she has received from Eagle Escape, Lillian simply gestured towards the other members in the room.

“These people are awesome, that’s my only answer. These people are good,” she said.