. >> reporter: it's finals time at julliard, the elite performing arts school in new york. >> we don'tsecond chance for these kind of things. it's a once a year kind of an event. >> reporter: his method for overcoming a rough time? comes covered in fur. >> hi, how are you? >> reporter: a therapy dog study break. >> dogs are great, they will give you affection no matter what. it's a good time to get away from everything. >> reporter: julliard and other campuses are bringing therapy dogs to wick away the stress. more than 40% of students they say experienced overwhelming anxiety in the past year. >> they really help destress, lower blood pressure and they help people in need. the president

. >> reporter: it's finals time at julliard, the elite performing arts school in new york. >> we don'tr these kind of things. it's a once a year kind of an event. >> reporter: his method for overcoming a rough time? comes covered in fur. >> hi, how are you? >> reporter: a therapy dog study break. >> dogs are great, they will give you affection no matter what. it's a good time to get away from everything. >> reporter: julliard and other campuses are bringing therapy dogs to wick away the stress. more than 40% of students they say experienced overwhelming anxiety in the past year. >> they really help destress, lower blood pressure and they help people in need. the president of the good dog therapy association said these dogs go through rigorous training. >> the dogs give you unconditional love. so it's great to receive that when you're really stressed out. >> reporter: chen said that after a little puppy play -- >> i feel a lot less stressed. >> reporter: he's ready to go back to performing. ♪ >> we need some puppies here, please. thanks for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning am

i was serious enough about acting that i auditioned for julliard when i was a senior in high school, didn't get in, determined college wasn't for me, and applied nowhere else, which was a genius move, so... this was my world going into september 2001. so after the 11th and feeling an overwhelming sense of duty and just being pissed off in general at myself, my parents, the government, you know, not having confidence, not having a respectable job, i joined the marine corps, and i loved it, i loved being a marine. it's one of the things i'm most proud of having done in my life. firing weapons was cool, driving and detonating expensive things was great, but i found that i loved the marine corps the most for the thing that i was looking for the least when i joined, which was the people, these weird dudes, a--a motley crew of characters from a cross section of the united states that on the surface i had nothing in common with, and over time all the political and personal bravado that led me to the military dissolved, and for me, the marine corps became synonymous with my friends, and then