The completion of the Saint Mary's Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex has provided many opportunities for students to engage with athletics, health, counseling, events and more. The second annual Student Health and Wellness Fair will take place in Angela Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Student volunteers and the wellness committee are hosting the event, including assistant athletic trainer Katie Knisely, director of athletics Julie Schroeder-Biek and director of health and counseling Izzy Fourman. The fair began last year with the help of the Kristine Anderson Trustey Wellness Program. Knisely said she thought this was the perfect way to kick off the creation of the wellness program.
“The goal of this fair is to promote health and wellness to the students of Saint Mary’s College to help foster lifelong habits of wellness,” Knisely said.
Throughout the event, there will be breakout sessions with certified speakers giving talks on CPR, general safety and how to correctly use a foam roller. There will also be over 25 vendors, clubs and organizations with informational booths for students to visit. The vendors are different from last year’s contributors.
“We invited clubs and organizations from around campus that we thought embodied our five pillars — mind, body, spirit, emotional and financial,” Knisely said.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross will also have a table to emphasize one of their slogans: “Sound mind in a sound body.”
Erin Maloney, a senior, is assisting with the Love your Melon booth, an organization whose profits go towards fighting pediatric cancer.
“I decided to get involved because it’s important to promote being healthy, and there’s so many different ways to be healthy,” she said. “The Health and Wellness Fair is a great opportunity for people to see new ideas for how they can be healthy, and I want to be a part of that.”
Knisely said students are encouraged to attend the fair to learn about healthy habits, but are also incentivized by the opportunity to win prizes through drawings every 30 minutes.
“The prizes include fitness equipment, such as foam rollers and yoga mats along with munch money,” she said. “Different vendors are also bringing prizes.”
Students can get tickets for the drawings by visiting and talking to different booths and tables or by attending breakout sessions, Knisely said. The more sessions and tables students visit, the more tickets they can earn.
Sophomore Giavanna Paradiso said she attended this event as a freshman, but this year, she is helping to work the Student Activities Board booth. Paradiso said the booth is focusing on informing students about upcoming events along with tips on how to stay healthy in college.
“[Knisely] and the rest of the wellness team at Saint Mary’s College have put in so much thought and work into this event that I think it will be fantastic and beneficial for the student body,” Paradiso said. “That is why I decided to get involved.”
