By Katelyn Patterson | Reporter
Baylor Wellness Night featured free T-shirts, workout towels and access to resources for health and wellness for students Wednesday night on Fountain Mall.
Assistant director of wellness, fitness and nutrition Van Smith-Davis said the event was a showcase of all of the areas in the Department of Wellness, including the Beauchamp Addiction Recover Center, Education and Outreach and FitWell.
“We have all of what we do right here in one space,” Smith-Davis said.
The event also featured a workout demonstration to showcase the FitWell program. The workout included highlights from the dance fitness classes that are offered including Zumba, Bollywood and boxing. All FitWell classes are free for students this semester.
“The department of wellness provides health education programs that help Baylor students develop healthy lifestyles and cultivate a culture of wellness on campus through knowledge and behavior change,” the Department of Wellness’ website said.
Smith-Davis said giving the students the resources to be motivated and take care of their wellness was the goal of the event.
“They would know that if they have any questions about fitness, wellness, self-care, recovery, all of that, then they can meet the people who are actually in charge of those areas,” Smith-Davis said.
Brownsville senior Sophia Garza is a peer health educator. Garza said the main mission of a PHE is to share health information with their peers.
“It’s a lot more interpersonal,” Garza said. “It’s coming from someone that they relate to instead of some big governing body.”
Garza said that she enjoys working as a PHE and educating students on health topics.
“Wellness is one of the really big things that I’m passionate about, and I think a lot of times students on campus really forget to take care of themselves or feel like they can’t take care of themselves in college,” Garza said. “Being a person that people can come to to ask for advice and just be there for people is really important to me.”
Garza said advocacy and awareness are keys to getting resources to students.
“I just think that the awareness of things on campus really helps get the idea out there,” Garza said. “Being on Fountain Mall where students can see us, if they hadn’t seen it on Instagram and are just passing through campus, is great to get them in there and find it.”
