Worcester State University will be hosting its second annual Wellness Expo on Wednesday, February 14, in the Gene J. & Julianne DeFeudis Wellness Center in collaboration with the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund. The Wellness Expo promotes wellness-based organizations, businesses, and opportunities and provides an interactive and engaging experience for attendees.
“The overall goal of the Wellness Expo is really to shed light for our campus community, students, faculty, and staff, about options and insight into the journey of wellness,” said Assistant Director of the Wellness Center Dean Bowen.
A total of 58 exhibitors will be present at the Expo, including UniCare, this year’s sponsor. Other exhibitors include MCPHS Acupuncture Clinic & Program, Worcester State Student Nurses Association, Connections Physical Therapy, Impact 508 Nutrition, and the Massachusetts National Guard. There will be interactive hands-on activities, screenings, and most importantly, new resources for students and faculty.
“Lots of food samples, giveaways, try this, try that,” said Bowen. There will even be multiple raffle prizes for the chance to win sweatshirts, full-zip jackets, water bottles, a yoga kit, and more. “We’ve got a lot of fun stuff going on,” he continued.
A new addition to the Expo is a teach-in series of lectures by Worcester State professors talking about health and wellness topics. Teach-ins are open to everyone and will be located in Wellness Center room 204:
- “Diet & Life Expectancy,” with Dr. Mariana Calle, Health Sciences, 10:30 a.m. -11:15 a.m.
- “Let’s Talk about Sex & Pleasure,” with Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem, Interdisciplinary Studies, 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
- “It was an Accident-Exploring Beliefs about Unintentional Injury,: with Dr. Andrew Piazza, Health Sciences, 12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Preparations for the Wellness Expo began back in September, as there will be an estimated 20 more exhibitors than last year’s inaugural event. Bowen said there is an option for everyone and he hopes people walk away with something more than what they walked in with.
“We make that engaging atmosphere and opportunity, and then hopefully students will utilize some of those resources that they’ve been exposed to at the Wellness Expo to elevate their own personal wellbeing in whatever way they see fit,” said Bowen.
The Wellness Expo is brought to the university by The Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund. Created by alumni Gregg ’86 and Pamela Rosen ’87 and their children Kaitlyn, Zachary, and Melanie, the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund raises awareness about cancer prevention and detection, and provides health education programming on campus.
The Wellness Expo will take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. It is free of charge and open to all.
Top Photo: Students visit vendor tables. at last year’s Wellness Expo.
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