Beginning a new semester can be stressful, but did you know that you can earn prizes for meditating or lifting weights? Thanks to Weber State’s Wellness Center, you can.

Located on the second floor in the Wildcat Center, the Wellness Center has a rewards program where students can earn prizes by participating in different activities that promote health.

Any Weber State student can pick up a rewards card from the Wellness Center and pick up points by leading a healthier lifestyle, physically, mentally and emotionally.

“We felt that students should be aware of what their fees go to help paying for,” Student Wellness Coordinator Rochelle Creager said. “We have facilities like the Stress Relief Center, the Health Center and the entire gym, all for free to students …The [rewards] program helps students explore what is available to them on campus.”

Creager mentioned that the point of this rewards program is to help students become independent in living a healthy lifestyle and knowledgeable about what is offered to them on campus.

“Some students don’t find out until their senior year that things like the Stress Relief Center are free and open to any student,” she said. “They need to know what they have available to them and let others know too.”

The Wellness Center advocates fit lifestyles including a balance in physical, spiritual, occupational, emotional, environmental, intellectual, social and financial health. By offering the rewards program, the Wellness Center is able to strengthen students’ ability to navigate life’s obstacles.

Earning rewards through athletic activities can include intramural sports, meeting with a personal trainer, swimming in the pool, rock climbing at the Weber Rocks wall, joining a Weber Walks group and being part of a group fitness class.

Mental health is also an emphasis with the rewards program. “If you’re physically healthy, but not mentally healthy, then you’re not well,” Creager said.

Students can also be rewarded by taking advantage of the programs to help alleviate some of the pressures of life. This includes visiting the Stress Relief Center, meditation groups, relaxation groups and learning skills on coping with difficult college experiences.

The prizes people can earn vary, but Creager said it’s usually something to promote their health. Each card that has 10 activities completed will earn a prize and be entered into a raffle to win a gift card for the bookstore at the end of the semester.

Creager emphasized that most, but not all, of these activities in the rewards program are free for students.

“There are some other clubs that do things, like rafting, that are not free but are heavily discounted so that any student can go,” she said. “Students can also rent equipment, like snowboards, at a discount. These sort of activities are part of the rewards program, so more students can know what is available to them here at Weber State.”

Students can obtain a rewards card in the Wellness Center, room 201 in the Wildcat Center. Details about the rewards program and the Wellness Center can be found at their page on Weber State’s website.