Students and faculty darted from table to table during the wellness fair, learning about a variety of healthy resources across campus such as spirituality, emotions, community and more.
“We are trying to promote the services that best support the students of the university. And that is what this is, predominantly related to the wellness and the various dimensions of wellness for the students,” Anthony Fillippino, associate director of the HPER Center, said.
Several organizations that took part in the fair include the Autism and Neurodiversity Alliance, Career Services, the Honors College, Baptist Collegiate Ministry, the Wesley Foundation, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Torreyson Library.
Junior Kyle Urban, president of the Autism and Neurodiversity Alliance, said, “We try to provide and advocate for a community, for our students that are on the spectrum or are neurodiverse on our campus.”
The organization currently has two low sensory lounges on campus, one in Old Main room 028 and the other in Torreyson Library room 117.
“These are places where students can go to be free from distracting stimuli that could overstimulate them or otherwise cause distress. So it’s a place where those who are easily overwhelmed can go to study or fidget. We’ve got lots of fidget toys there,” Urban said.
Junior Tamir Marsh, a representative for Career Services, said the organization is “focused on student professional development.”
“We want to make those student connections so that they know that we are a resource here on campus that they can use and access, such as resumes, career coaching, and so they know that they have someone that cares about them and wants to help them succeed in life,” Marsh said.
UCA Honors associate professor Ellen Hostetter and her husband Rob Madsen came to the event to present their upcoming barn dance.
Hostetter said, “My husband, Rob Madsen, and I started barn dance for students, and we were looking to expand it to staff and faculty and beyond honors.”
The duo held their first barn dance in spring 2024.
“What inspired us to start it was to create a space for students, staff and faculty to connect through music and dance, and so it’s a way to kind of get out of the classroom, out of thinking and talking and using your body to make connections with each other and to build community,” Hostetter said.
While the barn dance encourages social health, it also promotes physical health.
“In our dance, you can not only get social connections, but it gets your heart rate up at the exact same time,” Hostetter said.
The Honors College will be hosting a barn dance Oct. 30 in the HPER medium studio titled “Pop-Up ContraArt Gallery,” where students will be able to dance as well as wall through a small art gallery. The gallery will be accepting different kinds of art from drawings and paintings to sculptures and jewelry.
The Baptist Collegiate Ministry was one of the two religious organizations at the event.
Junior Carter Sykes said, “They’ve laid out six different aspects of wellness, and I saw on the sign as I was walking in that one of them is spirituality, and BCM folds under spirituality because our whole goal is to equip students to know Jesus and have a deeper relationship with him and then get plugged in with local churches.”
The Torreyson Library came to the fair to promote “Crafty Hour,” a new weekly event held on the first floor every Tuesday from 1-3 p.m.
Activities such as cards, legos, coloring sheets and games will be available for use.
“I keep running into people that aren’t aware of the services that we provide at the library, and it’s important for us to spread the word so people know all the things that they have access to,” fiscal support analyst J.W. Calvery said. “We really want people to take advantage of the things that we’re providing.”
Some of the library’s newest wellness additions include the new multi-sensory room as well as electronic pets.
“We’ve got these robotic pets that people can check out in case they’re homesick for their pet at home. Hopefully, this can comfort them a little bit. We have cats and dogs that can both be checked out,” Calvery said.
