Following Wednesday’s Wellness Fair on Taylor Mall, Thursday’s recognition of National Depression Awareness Month and October’s recognition for national nurse-managed clinics, the Downtown campus is gearing up for a week of healthy living.
Hosted by ASU Wellness, the Wellness Fair on Taylor Mall hosted ASU student groups and local businesses promoting healthy living. Blasting music and boasting interactive booths, students were actively engaged in the fair.
“I’m more of a visual learner anyway, but it’s a big difference when you see a display about portion size with a hamburger cut in half and then a full hamburger,” freshman nursing student Clay Pennington said. “It makes you think that maybe I should share with somebody.”
Local groups that participated saw a positive response not only to their own causes, but to future healthy living.
Shun the Sun, a nonprofit organization committed to raising awareness and fighting skin cancer, attended to recruit ASU students for the Deseret A & L’s Shun the Sun Skin Cancer Run. Echoing Arizona’s position as number two in the world of highest rates of skin cancer, Shun the Sun hoped to involve students to change their and other youth’s futures.
“We need all the exposure we can get, this has been good exposure,” Shun the Sun Marketing Director April Hanks said. “The more young people we have involved in skin cancer prevention, the better. What better thing can they possibly do when they’re growing up than to prevent future children from getting skin cancer.”
Funds raised will be used to build shade structures over elementary school playgrounds and sport complexes in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Student groups such as DPC Aware attended to make students mindful of the ways they can deal with health issues while on campus. DPC Aware had students spin the “Wellness Wheel” to learn about ASU’s ventures to help issues like stress management, depression and suicide.
“Our main goal is promote awareness so every meeting we’re in a training for each of (these) topics so we can help,” said Michele Rinck, junior dietetics student and DPC Aware member. “A lot of people (are) coming up and spinning the ‘Wellness Wheel.’ Everyone really likes the idea of free condoms, we’re trying to take the scare out of (these) topics.”
Continuing the momentum of the Wellness Fair, ASU Wellness will observe National Depression Awareness Month with a presentation of a film by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and panel discussion at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Cronkite Building, room 252.
“The Truth About Suicide: Real Life Stories of Depression in College” will focus on personal stories of those touched by college suicide and will be followed by a panel discussion between the audience and ASU counseling and mental health experts.
Rounding out the week’s activities focused on healthy lifestyles, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation will celebrate National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week all week.
ASU runs four nurse-managed health clinics on the Downtown campus, Grace Lutheran Church in central Phoenix, near Old Town Scottsdale and in the North Tempe Multigenerational Community Center to provide primary care, health promotion and prevention services to those most in need of health services.
Contact the reporter at caitlin.cruz@asu.edu
