By Julia Vergara | Staff Writer
The Baylor Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) is currently searching for new members to join in its goal of supporting the Baylor Health Center by providing student input, assisting with activities and developing health outreach programs for the campus.
Baton Rouge senior and President of SHAC Chris Shin said the deadline for the application is March 15 and students can access it through the Baylor Health Center website.
“We’re a small group, but we would love to really make an impact and we can have a better impact on the student body if we get passionate applicants,” Shin said.
Shin said SHAC currently has about 10 members and is looking to keep the group relatively small at 15 members maximum.
The nature of SHAC is to do a lot of promotion and to help out the Baylor Health Services and Wellness Department, Shin said.
“We’re looking for students who are really willing to help out and really willing to devote outside time to volunteering or sharing information,” Shin said. “We’re looking for students who are comfortable with social media and good with communication, and are willing to be creative and open to new ideas and really try to reach out to people and groups.”
Friendswood sophomore Sowmika Boppana said SHAC is comprised of undergraduate students from various backgrounds and majors.
Boppana said she joined SHAC because college students tend to overlook their own health and it is often difficult to find all the information on campus resources available to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Because of this, she wanted to play a part in bridging the information gap and help improve students’ health.
“We work with the Baylor Health Center and act as an information bridge between the student population and the health center at Baylor,” Boppana said.
SHAC members do not only serve as the “bridge” between students and Baylor health professionals, they also help the Baylor Health and Wellness Center in a variety of ways.
For example, Shin said whenever the health center is hiring new nurses or doctors, they always ask for a couple of students to come in during the interview process and provide a student perspective. During the flu season, members also help with the flu clinics on campus. They also recently helped out at the Love The Run You’re With 5K hosted by Baylor Wellness.
According to Shin, SHAC holds bi-weekly meetings dedicated to discussing projects they are working on, as well as brainstorming for future projects.
SHAC applicants should be willing to spare at least an hour every two weeks for meetings, Shin said.
Once the SHAC application deadline arrives, Shin said current members will sit down and go through all the applicants together the next day. From there, accepted applicants will be contacted for an in-person interview.
“We’ve been talking about what we’re looking for with members and what the group really needs in new members,” Shin said. “So we’re just really looking for people who would fit, who we feel comfortable working with.”
