Lexi Riley
Staff Writer
Starting Sept. 18 and going through Nov. 30, The College of Wooster’s Longbrake Student Wellness Center will be holding their first annual “The Mind/Body/Green Challenge.” The event includes four separate challenges each focusing on one of the themes of the contest: mind, body and healthy eating. Rachel David, health education coordinator at the Wellness Center, describes the experience as an opportunity to develop a “culture of wellness at Wooster; one where being healthy is the norm, everyone is involved and students can easily incorporate wellness behaviors into their busy lives to feel more balanced.”
The Wellness Center hopes to encourage students to become more active by adding a competition aspect and a chance to win Amazon gift cards. As this is the first year for the program, Danielle Golden ’19, a volunteer for the competition, described that it stems from a hope “that this challenge brings more awareness to how important physical and mental health are on a college campus” and encourages students to “live healthier lifestyles that help combat these issues.”
The first challenge focuses on the mind and encourages students to attend the College Survival 101 program, consisting of six sessions ranging from handling stress to making the most of your Wooster experience.
The second challenge targets the body and motivates competitors to participate in two fitness classes, including yoga and high intensity training, each week.
The third concentrates on eating green. The challenge tasks students with eating five servings of vegetables and fruits each day of the event, excluding weekends.
The final event challenges students to the “ultimate test of wellness,” in which competitors attempt to complete all three challenges. By participating in the competition, contestants will be entered to win Amazon gift cards worth $75 to $150.
With the newly founded competition, David emphasizes the importance of students learning how to stay healthy — both physically and mentally.
“I’ve talked to lots of Wooster students over the past year, and I can see that they are extremely bright, motivated and driven. They’re also very stressed out, and I want them to know that self-care is important, doable and fun! You just need to learn how to take care of yourself and make it a priority; hopefully this challenge will inspire students to do that.”
With the start of the competition only a week away, student response remains high as the Mind groups reached its capacity and the other challenges are close behind. However, Wellness Center staff members encourage students to continue signing up, helping the Wooster community strive to grow healthier in all aspects.