Zach Houlton

“Being a Radical Health peer Guide was a great opportunity to help foster connections between the freshman athletes (…) it was really rewarding hearing about the people in my group becoming friends and hanging out outside our sessions.”

Williams College
Major: Music
Minor: Pre-Health Track

What drew you to your major?

While I enjoy my pre-med classes like biology and chemistry, I already have to take a lot of these courses in order to apply to medical school. Majoring in music gave me a chance to explore another subject I feel really passionate about. I also finished a music thesis earlier this year and even almost went to music graduate school. 

What did you get out of your experience with RADical Health?

Being a Radical Health peer Guide was a great opportunity to help foster connections between the freshman athletes. While it took me a few years to become fully integrated into the athletic community here at Williams, the RADical Health program jumpstarted the process for these athletes.

Leading a RADical Health session meant taking an athlete-centered approach to helping first-years navigate time management, stress management and mental health in college. As a senior sharing the wisdom I have learned over four years, I have also been able to reflect on my own college journey as a student-athlete. I wish this program had been available to me as a first-year; it was really rewarding hearing about the people in my group becoming friends and hanging out outside our sessions.

Which specific skills or tools from RADical Health have you applied in your daily life?

Being a RADical Health leader has contributed to my leadership skills at large, but one thing I have specifically learned from my experience as a peer Guide with RADical Health is to value silence in a conversation. In my first couple of RADical health sessions, my co-leader and I would fill in large silences in order to keep the session from feeling awkward, but we began to realize that these silences were an important time for people to think critically about the prompts and they stimulated more rewarding conversation.

I am now more comfortable and tolerating towards silence in my conversations with others, and this skill has helped me become a better listener. 

Can you share a specific situation where skills from RADical Health helped you manage stress or overcome a challenge?

As a member of the Williams College class of 2024.5, I graduated at the end of January, however, there was a two-week period in early January when I was still wrapping up my thesis, working on post-graduation planning, finishing my swim season and I had already started my job for the spring. The stress management techniques we discussed in our sessions, particularly the importance of breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable steps, helped me avoid feeling overwhelmed. This proactive approach helped me to navigate that challenging time more effectively and maintain both my academic and athletic performance.

How has RADical Health influenced how you connect with others on campus?

As an upperclassman, I don’t often interact with underclassmen on different teams than me. Being a RADical Health peer Guide has connected me with a few other athletes around campus that I say hi to and keep in touch with, even though I probably would have never met them had I not been a RADical Health leader.

Furthermore, witnessing the positive impact of the program on the first-years and hearing about their growing friendships made me feel more integrated into the broader athletic community.