There was a successful turnout to the Winter Wellness fair on Feb. 14 at the REC/IM building.
Ellen Gold, executive director of Student Wellbeing, said the turnout was better than last year.
“It looks like there’s a steady pace of people coming in. They had about 200 people participate last year and it looks like they’ll exceed it this year,” Gold said.
Eric Ward, program coordinator in the Wellness Center at Snow Health Center, said there were two wellness fairs last year, one in fall and one in winter, but only one was planned for this year.
According to Ward, the event cost very little, with total expenses estimated to be roughly $500, most of which resulted from the purchase of recycled bags that were free to attendees. Many campus organizations worked together to organize the event at a low cost.
“When budgets are tight, we can collaborate together. There’s no politics,” Ward said. “It’s us doing something together for the betterment of students and the community.”
Unlike other wellness fairs Ward participated in, the organizations that participated in the event weren’t required to pay any fee to participate.
Ward said the intention of the fair was to help students be healthier and more successful people.
“It’s a nice holistic way to introduce students and members of our community to the different aspects of wellness that we focus on here on campus,” Ward said. “We use data we get from the National College Health Assessment survey that actually talks about what are students talking about that they identify as bearers of success. What are they say is causing them to fail, drop out of school, not do a paper correctly? And it’s not things like, ‘I couldn’t go to the bar tonight.’ It’s finances, stress, anxiety, working multiple jobs. This hopefully helps them think about balance.”
Kirk Howard, area complex director for Downing Hall and Buell Hall, said he thinks it’s very important for students to lead a balanced life that doesn’t just focus on academic success.
Howard was very happy with the fair and said students seemed to be enjoying the event.
“I think it’s incredible all of the different things we have here for the students,” he said. “It looks like students are having a lot of fun.”
Gina Morelli, a sophomore majoring in athletic training, said she hopes that the fair will continue through future years and see increased attendance.
“I think it’s very informative and more people should come. I didn’t know about half of these services. It’s a good opportunity to learn stuff about campus,” Morelli said.
