Ryan Bilanski (he/him) has been working at USask (Saskatoon campus) since 2018 with Student Affairs and Outreach. With a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina, he previously worked with non-profits, the Saskatoon Public School Division and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, before he joined USask. He was completing his Master’s in Social Work through Dalhousie University when he was hired and had the opportunity to complete his practicum requirements in his new position as the Counsellor in Residence at USask, which he’s been in ever since.
As USask’s Counsellor in Residence, Bilanski provides outreach coordination and mental health support to students living in dorms for situations ranging from “loneliness and isolation” to emergency situations (see Student Affairs and Outreach). One might assume that the majority of students needing this support are in their first few years of study, navigating life away from home for the first time. However, Bilanski was surprised to find that he provides support to international graduate students more than anything. He explained that students moving from other countries to further their education are high achievers and have stress outside of their academic pursuits like missing home, their culture, and navigating life in Canada which can result in a difficult experience.
“I had to learn a lot about culture. My culture, other peoples’ culture. I was working with different approaches to care and support, really having to become curious and not just taking a Western approach, because that won’t work in all cases.”
Bilanski took on a second role at USask three years ago. He was initially introduced to supporting Huskie Athletics by working with athletes that live in residence, as well as consulting on policies and procedures regarding mental health for athletes. This turned into his current role as Huskie Athletics Support and Outreach Coordinator, a position that aligns well with his background in sport. Bilanski says that student athletes are another group of high achievers who often need assistance coping with stressors outside of their sport. Athletes have an extremely busy schedule with a lot of pressure, and Bilanski is there to help them by providing resources or referring them to the Student Wellness Centre when needed. Other colleges and departments are now choosing to hire staff from Student Affairs and Outreach, similar to how Bilanski has a role for two specific parts of campus.
Bilanski’s passion for student wellness is leading him to pursue his PhD in Kinesiology, which he hopes to start in the near future. He is particularly interested in researching self-compassion and identity as it relates to high demand, low control stress, which is what the students he supports often experience. He has found that often, sport or schoolwork are not what’s causing students stress, it is the things outside of their control like missing their pet or financial trouble. This often leads to students doubling down on work and losing self-compassion when they aren’t performing as well.
He plans to research how student identities are built and shaped around their studies and sports, and how morals, ethics, and self-compassion play a role in identity. “[I’m interested in] really looking at that mental fatigue. So, just like if you were lifting weights, you may want to lift more, but you have to get there because you hit your fatigue at some point, so you build to progress faster. Well, how do we learn how to do that as students?”Bilanski explains. “One thing we didn’t think we were capable of in our first year, we’re surpassing it in our third or fourth. I think that deserves a little bit of attention and hopefully can help students in the future.”
He plans to take his studies slowly, fitting it where he can amidst his USask roles, and the private practice that he counsels out of a few times a week. He enjoys the flexibility an ASPA membership allows and finds it super beneficial for his work-life balance. His family loves to spend time outside together, whether fishing at the family cabin or gardening in the summer. His two boys, aged 9 and 14, also get to call their dad “coach” on their hockey teams.
Bilanski refers to ‘self-care’ as ‘essential care,’ a term he learned from a former instructor, which he practices in different ways. He loves to exercise and keep active daily by playing squash or hockey, biking, skateboarding, or lifting weights. Rest is equally important in his essential care routine, with activities like playing guitar, reading books, or journalling. Going with the flow while balancing work and life is his personal philosophy to fit essential care into his every day.
This member highlight was written by Kathryn Sawatzky, ASPA Communications & Public Relations Committee member.