Saint Mary’s students filled Angela Field House Friday afternoon for this year’s health fair sponsored by the Kristine Anderson Trustey Wellness Program.
Director of student involvement and advocacy Liz Baumman, who is part of the wellness program coordinating committee, explained the event's origin and goal.
“The fund was started by a generous alum, who is Kristine Anderson Trustey, with a specific purpose to enhance student wellness on campus,” Baumman said.
The fair consisted of tables from student groups and organizations providing both on-campus and off-campus resources. Tables covered topics ranging from physical health and mental health to spiritual health.
Sophomores Izzi Linus and Katie Harrington, both soccer players at Saint Mary’s, were at the fair representing the student organization Morgan’s Message. Linus described Morgan’s Message as an advocacy group for mental health, especially among student-athletes.
“It’s really important for us that a lot of people know that they have a community to go to,” she said. “A lot of the time athletes are struggling without you knowing about it.”
Another student table, the Wellness Advisory Council, drew in a great deal of participation from their interactive ”Just Dance” game.
Table hosts Jada Reitmeier and Mila Swiacki said the council’s goal is to raise health awareness on campus and bridge the gap between students faculty and staff. Reitmeier said having an interactive game at their both stresses the importance of having fun.
“We’re just here to have fun and give yourself a break. Have fun, take care of yourself and you don’t have to be serious all the time,” she said.
In addition to student-provided resources, representatives from the College staffed numerous tables.
Heather Abbott, a counselor at the Health and Counseling Center, ran a table about past and current mental health trends.
“I’m here just sharing some of the changes in the field of behavioral health and then along with the things that are treatments and approaches to mental health and well-being,” Abbott said.
Abbott added that the health fair is a great opportunity for students to learn about resources readily available to them.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to learn about the resources that are available on campus and to get information about taking care of their whole being, both physical and mental,” she said.
A table that drew many students, mostly because it displayed a recipe for the infamous ”Borg,“ was one on bar safety operated by Renee Schutze from Health and Counseling.
“Our main goal is safety here at this table,” Shutze said. ”[We are] talking about alcohol poisoning risks so that way [people] understand the new trends with the Borg and how much alcohol is really in that.”
Shutze’s table was also giving away StopTopps, a cover for your drink in the form of a sticker.
“We’ve had women that come in and they either know somebody or they’ve been affected by date rape drugs,” she said.
First-years Caitlin Mitchell and Abbey Duggan both said they attended for the giveaways, but they added that they were pleasantly surprised with how much they enjoyed the event.
“I really like it, especially the phone booth where you put your phone there and just walk around without it,” Mitchell said.
Junior Bailey Siglow said she was drawn to the health fair because of “the free tote bag” but said she was happy to learn about some of the resources available.
“Definity informational, I just got the number for Smick security," Siglow said. "There's just a lot of safety things that I never know about."
Baumann said she thought the health fair this year was a great success.
“We had increased attendance this year which was awesome. The students seemed very engaged,” she said.
Baumann, who had her own table highlighting the Mother Pauline food pantry, added that it was great to see and chat with so many students.
“I had the opportunity to speak with students that knew about the resource that I was tabling for and had accessed that resource, but also students who had not heard or didn’t know how to access the resource,” Baumann said.
Baumann also spoke about how important it is for resources outside of Saint Mary’s campus to come show students what they have to offer.
“It’s just such a fun opportunity to get to connect with our campus partners, but also our community partners,” she said.
One such outside resource was the Notre Dame fire and police departments.
“I’m always grateful when our campus safety and the Notre Dame police and fire attend,” Baumann said. ”They’re always very engaging. The Notre Dame police and fire were participating in our ‘Just Dance‘ booth which was hilarious and fun.”
Baumann said the best way to give feedback is to email her or direct message Saint Mary’s wellness on Instagram.
“We’re so grateful to the students that attended and hope they’ll share their feedback with us as we continue forward,” Baumann said.
SMC hosts health fair to highlight resources, well-being
Students gathered in Angela Field House to visit tables promoting different aspects of health at this year's health fair.
Students gathered in Angela Field House to visit tables promoting various aspects of health at this year's health fair.
Renee Shutze along with Health and Counseling representatives give out StopTopps to students to advocate for bar safety.
