Nhi Tran photo: Students visit the “Pamper Me!” station offered by the Multicultural Center at this year’s Wellness Fair.Mercyhurst’s Campus Involvement Center hosted the eleventh annual Mercyhurst Wellness Fair Friday, March 27.

The fair provided students with information and activities centered on health and wellness. The Wellness Fair drew more than 300 people to 20 health-centered educational stations set up in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Kristy Jamison, Leadership and Outreach Coordinator for the Campus Involvement Center, was an influence in this year’s organization of the Fair.

“We want students to learn that there are different ways to take care of themselves and it’s not just going to the gym,” Jamison said.

Participants in the Fair educated students on a range of healthy rituals, from nutritional alternatives, to exercise techniques, as well as mental and spiritual habits.
“We want to address the whole spectrum of health needs,” Jamison said.

Students were given a variety of information about health from several Mercyhurst departments, including Campus Ministry, which emphasized the importance of meditation in a student’s daily life.

The Multicultural Center also offered tips about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, providing organic body scrubs and beauty supplies. The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) provided Army physical fitness challenges for students as well.

“There has been so much help from a variety of departments, to name them would take all day” said Jamison. “They really make the fair what it is by offering interesting and informative stations.”

Sports Medicine and Athletic Training departments played significant roles in running the activities featured at the Wellness Fair.

Sports Medicine hosted a “Taste or Waist” food sampling station in which volunteers from the department cooked healthy alternatives to common comfort foods. Visitors were asked to determine which foods were healthier.

Megan Marchese, a senior Exercise Science major, volunteered at the station during the Fair.

“We want to promote changes in people from eating in an unhealthy way to eating healthier,” Marchese said.

Marchese stressed the importance of eating responsibly.

“It’s important that people cook their own food,” said Marchese. “A lot of studies are coming out about processed foods and the ingredients in them. Know what you’re putting in your body.”

The Taste or Waist is a station that will return to the Fair next year. Visitors were given the opportunity to try the healthier alternative on their own with as each volunteer a handed out recipes for their dishes.

Other highlights of the fair included the “Shake Your Salad” snack bar, sponsored by Parkhurst Dining Services. The National Student Nurses Association provided free blood pressure checks and the Athletic Training department offered free student massages.