El Camino students manifest their goals with a vision board workshop

By Ananya Iamcharoen • February 26, 2026

Studio art major Rubi Cifuentes, 19, looks though a magazine to create a vision board project outside the El Camino College Center for Well-Being on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Cifuentes said she has created digital collages, but that this was the first time she created a traditional collage. “I like looking at the magazines because I rarely get to see them like this,” Cifuentes said. (Nikki Yunker | The Union)

With magazine cut outs and art supplies, students got the opportunity to piece together their goals in collages from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ECC Commons on Tuesday, February. 24, as part of a vision board workshop hosted by the Center for Well-Being.

Since it first opened during the fall 2025 semester as an extension of the Student Health Services, the Center for Well-Being staff have made efforts to provide relaxing and recharging activities for students and employees.

Student Wellness Ambassador and sociology major Eleanor Michaels, 22, said the idea for a vision board building workshop came from a team brainstorming session.

“I thought it was a good idea because it combines arts and crafts, which is super fun, with goal setting, which can be very helpful for our mental health, to have a clear vision for the future,” Michaels said.

Education major Isabelle Estrada, 18, uses scissors while putting together a vision board project at the El Camino College Center for Well-Being on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Estrada said she wants more nature and art in her life this year and plans to visit Hawaii. (Nikki Yunker | The Union)

Art and cosmetology major Axel Huang, 18, education major Isabella Estrada, 18, and physiology major Ray Choo, 18, rummaged through a magazine-decorated table, looking for the cutouts that could bring their vision boards to life.

Choo said that if people have something they want to say, then saying it is not enough so they come here to write it down on paper.

Huang said he was looking for things in the magazines that would inspire him and that he related to.

“I think it gives [students] a good direction with our goals—something to look at,” Huang said.

Theatre major Cassandra Rivera, 37, uses a glue stick to collage magazine clippings into a vision board project at the El Camino College Center for Well-Being on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Rivera, who used images sourced from travel and astronomy magazines, said her vision board represents starting a new life. (Nikki Yunker | The Union) — Theater major Cassandra Rivera, 37, uses a glue stick to collage magazine clippings into a vision board project at the El Camino College Center for Well-Being on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Rivera, who used images sourced from travel and astronomy magazines, said her vision board represents starting a new life. (Nikki Yunker | The Union)

Meanwhile, some recent experiences in Estrada’s life created the nature theme for her vision board.

“I went up to the mountains and I thought they were really beautiful, and I felt so happy… I’m saying yes to things. I realize that I can become the person who I always wanted to be,” Estrada said.

COMING UP at the Center for Well-Being:

– Color Your Calm: Coloring Workshop on March 3 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

– Rock Painting on March 4 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

– Paws and Unwind on March 17 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Center for Well-Being is open Mondays to Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.