On Friday from noon to 3 p.m., Saint Mary's Wellness Committee hosted the 2025 Student Health Fair at the Angela Athletic and Wellness Complex's fieldhouse. Students were able to take part in a travel-themed fair where students were able to learn about health resources, clubs and organizations, along with chances to win a variety of giveaways and prizes.
Madeline Maher, a registered nurse at the Health and Counseling Center, described the purpose of the health fair as helping students be more aware of the different health services provided around campus. This includes learning about the "five pillars" of wellness and how facilities on campus assist in a student’s well-being. She also discussed the purpose of the travel-themed design of the fair.
"Our wellness committee focuses on five pillars of wellness, so mental, physical, emotional, financial and spiritual health. The health fair is just a way for us to find different places on-campus and off campus that support those different pillars of wellness, so that students are made aware that they exist," Maher said. "We like to have a fun theme every year just to get people more engaged … This year the theme was travel, because it’s happening after spring break."
This health fair has been held at Saint Mary's since 2016, where students have the opportunity to hear medical and health presentations from peers and community members. At the fieldhouse, table booths were hosted by different organizations pertaining to health, including Smoke Free St. Joe along with clubs such as Yoga Belles.
"We are doing some separate presentations about things like credit card scores, financial health, when you want to study abroad and Green Dot training," Maher said. "We have information ranging anywhere from the Wellness Society, which is a new club on campus, to the overuse of antibiotics that the nurses are presenting on."
As another perk, the first 300 students arriving to the travel-themed fair received a travel kit along with a personalized SMC luggage tag. They were also able to receive a unique passport where they could get stamps from each table booth they visited, with them receiving one ticket for each stamp.
Prizes included tickets for one night at The Inn at Saint Mary's, 1st Source Bank prizes, hiking materials, Chicago musical tickets, car safety and road trip kits, album covers, a beach package and luggage. At the back of the fieldhouse, a walking taco station from Sugar Rush and mocktails provided refreshments.
Attendees from the event mentioned how it was interesting to see the different services provided on campus. Despite coming in with no expectations for the event, they liked how easily it was to pick up more information about the campus.
"I thought it might be kind of fun to check out and see what … everyone has here. I think it's really fun … It's also a good way to get information on what's happening on campus and how you're supported," freshman Abi Fletcher said.
Some students would also like to see future additions to the fair that will strengthen its message to prioritize taking care of one’s health. The event was able to provide information on how students can be involved with such organizations that support it as well.
"I think it was great. I would love to see Morgan’s Message a part of it, or other student involvement clubs," sophomore Claire Lorin said.
Organizers hoped that the fair allowed students to expand their knowledge about available health services and ways that the College can assist them. They hope students become familiar with the faculty who serve as health education resources and provide supplementary programming.
"We are here to support them, and there are a lot of avenues by which we can do that. We want them to know that we are all here with a common goal for them," Maher said.
