| New wellness program takes
holistic approach to student health BY ADRIENNE FRANK There’s more to wellness than carrot sticks and sit-ups. AU’s new student initiative, the Get Fit and Be Well Incentive Program, takes a holistic approach to health, aiming to improve participants’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being. “We are here to nurture the entire student,” said Stacey Snelling of the School of Education, Teaching and Health (SETH), a program partner. “Students need to learn to take care of themselves, physically, in order to achieve their intellectual goals.” 
Photos by Bill Petros
Students receive their fitness assessment at SETH’s newly refurbished Health Promotion Laboratory of the National Center for Health Fitness. More than 150 students are involved with the five-week wellness campaign that kicked off in late January. “We thought that was a great time to start this program, since almost everyone resolves to get fit at the beginning of the year,” said Kathy Haldeman of the Student Health Center, who helped craft the program. At the start of the program, each student underwent a fitness assessment. The battery of tests—including blood pressure, muscular strength and flexibility, and body mass index—were conducted by a team of 18 graduate students in SETH’s Health Promotion Management program. The participants also received one-on-one counseling to discuss their wellness goals, which ranged from working on their relationships, to incorporating more veggies in their diet, to improving their physical fitness. “We didn’t want this to be a competition to see who can lose the most weight, or who can become the strongest,” said Haldeman. “Five weeks isn’t a lot of time; some students will probably see physical improvements, but everyone moves at their own pace.” Everyone who completed the fitness assessment received a pedometer. Students also accrue points for working out at the Jacobs Fitness Center, or for attending workshops offered by a number of units on campus, including the Academic Support Center, the Counseling Center, the Wellness Center, and the Kay Spiritual Life Center. Each student who completes the program will receive a T-shirt, and those who rack up the most points will receive prizes. “We think this is a great way, not only for students to focus on wellness, but to become more aware of all the programs that are available to them on campus,” said Haldeman. “We have an extensive support system in place for them.” Both Snelling and Haldeman are hopeful that the Get Fit and Be Well campaign will become a permanent fixture at AU. Not only does the program support Point 15 of the university’s strategic plan, it also gives graduate students valuable, hands-on experience in the field. “This program allows them to take their classroom knowledge and apply it in the Wellness Center—to the benefit of all AU students,” said Haldeman. “Everyone wins.” |
