Ashland University wants students to thrive after graduation but also be healthy employees. Also as leaders they can encourage healthy behaviors to their patients, community members, colleagues, students, etc.
As part of a general education requirement, all students take a Lifetime Wellness course which is an examination and application based course focused on optimizing one's wellness based on theory. One of the spring sections of Lifetime Wellness was reserved specifically for the College of Arts and Sciences (CASA) Living Learning Community. However we had one student enroll in the section who was a business major- in the College of Business and Economics Living Learning Community!
Therefore this group of students had a wide range of career fields and aspirations- social work, criminal justice, biology and medical school, business, etc. It was a great mix!
On this day in class, students were on the indoor track completing a mini workout while having discussions about appropriate warm ups & cool downs, gathering heart rates, showing appropriate stretches before and after workouts, fast & slow twitch muscle fibers, signs of over-training, and the importance of nutrition during physical activity.
On another day, the students identified how their individual nutrition habits will impact themselves as a professional in their field, and also how nutrition impacts the individuals who they work with or serve. Students gave many examples such as...
- Owning a coffee/cafe shop and how long hours of running a business can impact their diet if they typically resort to the pastries available.
- Traveling international to serve children who do not have access to many resources- many, this may include food.
- Running a business and constantly traveling to shows, venues and at times, feel like you are "living out of your car" or just jumping from airport to plane to airport.
- Caring for patients in a hospital setting (where nutrition may or may not be a direct issue); and how nurses and physicians have long shifts which can result in grabbing convenient food or going long periods of time without eating.
Even though this group of students has differing interests and passions, the dialogue between peers allowed for respectful and encouraging conversations about their future professional lives.
