For college students, nurturing and maintaining a healthy relationship can be difficult. Many young adults find this goal to be out of reach. This may be because they lack the skills to balance relationships and school.

Many students who attend college are in some type of relationship, whether it is long term or casual, professional or personal they may feel the pressures of maintaining good relationships with good grades.

This is why OCCC is offering a two-hour seminar called Relationship U, said Katie Treadwell, Student Life Program Coordinator, .

Relationship U is partnered with OCCC’s Student Life organization.

Relationship U will be from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, in room CU3.

Lauren Mattox, Oklahoma Marriage Initiative program coordinator, said Relationship U is a program designed to help with all types of relationships, not just romantic ones.

“This seminar is about relationships and co-habitation, sliding versus deciding,” Mattox said.

Treadwell said the Relationship U program is good because it offers a variety of topics at the seminars.

“These programs target a variety of issues from marriage issues to topics of parents and children,” she said.

“Sometimes being in a relationship can do more harm than good if both individuals who are involved are not communicating well or they are not on the same page,” Mattox said.

“This program has been done at several universities around the state,” she said.

The presenters try to have a different topic every time they do a Relationship U seminar, Mattox said.

“Last semester we came to OCCC and held a three-week seminar, two days per week, with approximately 20 students in attendance at each seminar. This semester, we are holding only one seminar and we hope to have at least 40 to 50 students attending,” she said.

“The guest speaker will be Dr. Nate Cottle who is a professor in the Family Life Education Program at the University of Central Oklahoma and who is also working with the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative.

“He has spoken on many of these topics seminars at several different colleges,” Mattox said.

This seminar is free and open to all students. A free lunch will be served as well.

For more information contact Student Life at 405- 682-1611, ext 7185.

Community Reporter Christy Johnson can be reached at staffwriter2@occc.edu.