Students and faculty members congregated into Shaw Student Center to learn about wellness programs provided on campus at Westminster College’s Integrated Wellness Fair on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
The Integrated Wellness Fair incorporated Giovale Library staff, Environmental Center workers, Campus Safety’s Westminster’s Emergency Preparedness team, Counseling Center personnel and other campus departments who support student well-being.
“Wellness is now becoming one of the pillars of Westminster College,” said Madi Jones, the circulation manager at Giovale Library. “I also think that each individual department on campus has their own way of providing wellness [and] wanting to support students in that way.”
Each program set up a table to establish its presence and display resources for students’ well-being on campus, according to Jones. Katherine Paterson, the student engagement librarian at Giovale, said the fair is important to bring people together.
“Emotional wellness, physical wellness [and] academic wellness are all things that we want to nurture on campus and make sure students feel supported [in],” Paterson said. “I know the last two years have been pretty rough for a lot of people. […] The more departments on campus can come together in support of that is really important to the college.”
Ashlyn Gnoyski, a sophomore environmental science major and student worker at the Environmental Center, said Westminster places emphasis on the wellness of its students, as she tabled at the event.
“I love seeing all these different groups get together and just show more about how wellness works and how we can be better as a community and as individuals,” Gnoyski said.
Gnoyski said she is currently working to promote food stability for students on campus. The Environmental Center has all the information students need as Westminster works towards a waste-free campus, according to Gnoyski.
“Last year, I became really interested in garden work and focusing more on local effects on the environment,” Gnoyski said. “I think having people know how to have food stability and grow their own food is important, too.”
