Wellness Expo showcases healthy living to Liberty students

 

• Health Expo demonstrated ways for students to form healthy habits in a Block Party-like atmosphere.
• Student Health Center encourages students to form healthy habits and be healthy in all aspects, such as physical, spiritual, emotional and financial.

 

The Student Health Center and Wellness Initiatives hosted Liberty University’s fifth annual Health Expo, Tuesday Sept. 26 on the academic lawn.

 

The event was coordinated and organized by the Executive Director of the Student Health Center and Wellness Initiatives Keith Anderson and Assistant Director Bethany Williams.

 

Williams explained that the purpose of the Expo was to help students learn about the wellness options provided to them on and around Liberty’s campus. A total of 34 vendors attended, all catering to the health and wellness of students.

 

Anderson and Williams both stressed the importance of creating an environment that helps students form healthy habits before bad routines set in.

 

“The habits that we form when we are young will often stay with us for the rest of our lives,” Williams said. “I don’t necessarily see students going and changing everything, but if they just change one habit maybe they walk to their dorm instead of taking the bus.”

 

Anderson said students who form bad habits now will face consequences later in life.

 

“(We are) teaching young people how to develop those skills earlier rather than waiting until the latter ends of their life and overcome illness,” Anderson said. “How about we produce the healthiest Christians now to be engaging in their environment? And why not help them become more knowledgeable in how to be healthy and well so they can disciple that instead of disciple dysfunction?”

 

The Health Expo was designed to engage students interactively instead of overwhelming them with information. The event was designed to feel much like a block party with games such as corn hole, free T-shirts, a passport scavenger hunt, and a DJ all contributing to the fun atmosphere.

 

Another engaging aspect of the event was the nursing students’ booth where flu vaccines were administered. According to Anderson, over 300 free vaccines were issued by Liberty nursing students. While preventing future illness, those students also had an opportunity to put into practice what they have been learning.

 

The fair was not just about physical health, though. The Student Health Center is focused on promoting a nine-dimension wellness plan that emphasizes each aspect of a healthy life such as intellectual, spiritual, emotional and financial health.

 

Anderson believes that the other aspects are just as important as being physically healthy. While most colleges focus mainly on physical health, Liberty chooses to stress the importance of an all-encompassing health and wellness lifestyle.

 

Anderson and Williams are hopeful that the health awareness wave started at the fair will last much longer than a day.

 

“There’s a momentum,” Anderson said. “There’s an initiative to just continue, you know? It’s not a stagnant event that happens on the calendar and then we look forward to it again next year. Actually, we’re excited that this is going to be continual.”

 

The Student Health Center has a webpage that can be visited for more information on upcoming health and wellness events, as well as the Health Center’s mission statement. They have a Facebook page (@luhealthandwellness) that updates students regularly on events and wellness tips.