The sound of drums on Tuesday echoed through the recently renovated Student Achievement Center at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. Students gathered for the monthly drum circle and worked together to beat away the stress of the semester.
“It’s meant to help them learn to work together, to collaborate with each other,” said counselor Maria Loffredo, who uses the drum circle as a form of music therapy.
She went through training with local drummer and educator Jim Donovan, who got his start with the local band Rusted Root back in the 1990s.
“It helps the students to release some stress and deal with anxiety… while connecting their minds to their hands and making them aware of their environment,” Loffredo said.
The program finished with a few rounds of “square breathing,” which uses a series of four counts to teach students in the moment how to slow down their heart rate, which Loffredo says “can decrease stress and anxiety when you’re in those high tense moments.”
The drum circle is held throughout the year on the last Tuesday of the month.
