From the Nice Bergs to the Cool Cats and Nice-sicles, NeeDohs have been taking over the internet. 

As of March 6, Rebecca Kooser, a DHS College and Career advisor, has a collection of over 158 NeeDohs. Her growing collection has gotten her a lot of attention, as students often visit her just to try them out.

“If I ever see a student walking around with a NeeDoh, I am sure to tell them to stop by and check out my collection,” she said. “I always tell students to come by and test a NeeDoh before they buy it.”

Kooser’s collection isn’t something she just started. The purchase of a simple stress-relieving cube many years ago started a collection she couldn’t have anticipated.

“It started when I was in college,” she said. “I had my first little square, and I knew that they made different ones, but I like them all because they have different textures.”

Her array of squishy fidgets hasn’t been limited to her office. They follow her throughout her life.

“I have them everywhere – I have them in my car, my house, my boyfriend’s house, my sister’s house. Anywhere I’m at, there’s a NeeDoh with me,” she said.

The actual toy itself isn’t the only part she enjoys about collecting. The journey to a new NeeDoh has also piqued her interest.

“I also just like how fun it is to try and find them, I will change my route in any store just to look whether it’s Target, Walgreens, Walmart, Scheels, and a random toy store or boutiques, I feel like I get a certain inkling that makes me want to stop and check,” she said.

The stress-relieving toys can also be much more than just surface-level. Kooser, being the College and Career advisor, can deal with a lot of stressful conversations with students.

“NeeDohs come in handy when I am talking with students,” she said. “Conversations we have can often bring up stress and anxiety about current or plans, and if it makes a student want to stop by more to get things done for the future, then that’s all the better.”

Having a student perspective has helped Kooser understand the difficulties involved with those discussions.

“I try my best to recall where I was so many years ago and put myself in a student’s shoes to help ease the mountain that post-graduation can seem like,” she said.