Walking fruits and vegetables, free candy, games and a lot of free advice filled the atrium in the Shepherd Union Building on March 4 for the first Weber State University Health Fair.
Students from the WSU Department of Health Promotion and Human Performance organized the fair.
“As the instructor of the class, I am making them do the Health Fair,” said Laura Santurri, a professor in the health promotion program. “(The) purpose of the Health Fair is to raise awareness of particular health issues at Weber State University for students, faculty and staff.”
In years prior, the department has promoted and held the Stress Awareness Fair, which is more focused on stress management and reduction than on all areas of health.
The goal and focus of the Health fair was to encourage multiple departments to help better educate students, faculty and staff on different ways to increase their health and learn about the services provided on campus.
“We’re organizing lots of different areas,” said Cami Benedict, a health promotions major. “They’ll have a nutrition booth, exercise booth and others covering a variety of health topics. We’re hoping to reach out to the student population and try and raise awareness and get some involvement in health issues.”
The WSU Counseling and Psychological Services Center organized one of the booths. The center offers individual and family counseling for students, staff and faculty, covered by student fees.
“You get up to 12 sessions per academic year, no out-of-pocket fees or anything like that,” said Shaney McCoy, a staff member at the center. “We see people struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, ADHD, school problems and a wide variety of other things.”
The center offers group sessions on a weekly basis, and details about its services can be found on its new website, http://www.weber.edu/CounselingCenter.
Other services promoted during the fair included the Women’s Center and the Stress Relief Center.
The Women’s Center focuses on empowering and educating women on campus. It gives them resources they can use throughout their lives to achieve their academic and personal goals. It also provides resources such as scholarships and support groups.
The Stress Relief Center provides resources to teach what stress is, how it affects health and how people can manage it in a healthy manner. All the services these centers offer can be found through WSU’s main website.
The health promotion program offers many job opportunities after graduation.
“With a degree in health promotion, you can work in a variety of settings,” Santurri said. “A lot of students wind up working for local state or federal government, where there are a lot of health organizations, which include local departments.”
