Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
Happy Sunday, y'. All. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. And here we are again, my friend.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: It feels just like yesterday.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: It really does. And, you know, I'm not going to talk about everything that we just discussed prior to hitting record, but I will say I think I heard you mention only having about four hours of sleep last night. Is that right?
[00:00:32] Speaker B: You are correct. I did stay up a little too late playing catch up with some work stuff because it was my daughter's birthday this weekend. So, you know, I did a lot of focusing on her, and so I had to play some catch up, but then my dog needed to go outside this morning early, and so I got about four hours.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Hey, you know what? I totally get that. And I. I think we have acknowledged several times on this show that this is not a live show. You know, you're. You're either listening to this on the radio or podcast. And so we typically record on a Monday. So given that, are the Sunday scaries a norm for you, my friend?
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Not.
Not anymore. I mean, I love. I love my job. Yes. You know, back in the day before I changed careers. Yes.
Not about dreading coming to work, but I think dreading the. The hustle and bustle of the week of. Yes. Getting back into traffic, trying to get to school on time, making sure that, you know, oh, don't want to forget about, you know, signing this form for school, that kind of stuff. It's just like, who. Here comes the big wave again. Yes. What about you?
[00:01:41] Speaker A: I. I do probably this for the same reasons. I will say that in my previous life, working as a dietitian in a hospital setting, I remember that I would distinctly just get sweaty in places you should not sweat. As I would ride the elevator up to our nutrition suite.
Previously, it was on the seventh floor of the hospital. Now it's since changed locations, but I would remember riding up the elevator and I would just think of worst case scenario, thinking like, oh, my goodness, what if I get this consult on this patient and I have no idea what to do? I'm too scared to ask anybody. But I also don't want to kill anyone. And then I'm like, could I really kill someone? As a dietitian? I ha. I never did. So let me just say that on record. But I don't know. You know, you kind of just doom. You know, you have those dooms. Yeah, like doom, scroll, doom thoughts, whatever the case may be. And so I would have those kind of Sunday scaries. Just trying to predict what kind of patients would come on my patient load for the day. Now with this, it's, it's a different type of Sunday scary. More so. I just don't want to drop the ball on anything. And then I hope that whatever I drop the ball on, it's a bouncy ball that'll bounce back versus being something that totally shatters and breaks.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: That is exactly. I love that you said that. Yeah. It's not that I dread going to worry. I dread like, what am I forgetting? Or am I forgetting something important?
[00:03:04] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Because I think, you know, all of us out there, we have so many tabs open in our brain.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: You know, so many facets of our life that it's. It can be easy to overlook something. Yes.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: And I will say my team members and co workers, one of which is going to be on this show today, they've been really incredible at helping me set boundaries with not sending emails at really weird hours.
And so I try to like mask it by pre scheduling the email so that it shows up in their inbox during the 8 to 5 the next day. But sometimes they might get that rogue 11:30pm email or 3 in the morning, just whenever that thought pops up. And I'm convinced that if I don't send it out now, it'll get forgotten and then I'll get fired. I don't know. It's weird.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: I get it. Yeah. I totally get it. And I wonder if it's something that is our generation and older because I'm not really seeing that as much with the younger generation. Maybe it's just because I'm not in touch with it, but they seem to have a little bit more boundaries about, you know, like I'm, it's five. I'm not checking that. Yeah. I'm like, I, I need some of that.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: I know. I think it's just hard. I'm a geriatric millennial with the soul of a boomer. I probably should have been Gen X. I don't know. I have identity crisis with that kind of stuff. But we should probably have a guest on in the future to those different generations that are represented in the workplace. I feel like I think we've got some folks in HR that we can talk about that.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: It's like knowing a love language, knowing your generational work language.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. I agree. So I'm really impressed that we didn't get too, too crazy and in the weeds in this first segment. But if you Are listening.
Do not fear. That is not what we're talking about for today's episode. As always, we really like to bring it when it comes to our guests. Today is.
But, y', all, we gotta take a break. So I'm gonna tease you, but when you catch us on the other side, you're gonna find out who we have and what we're talking about. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the Capstone WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Shaina and meka on 90.7 the capst.
[00:05:33] Speaker A: That's right. And as I mentioned before the break, you know, I kind of put out a little teaser that we were going to bring it with the guest and what we're talking about today. And y', all, I am not a liar. Today we have Ms. Vanessa Garcia, who is Assistant Director of the UA Department of Health promotion and wellness. And, Vanessa, we're just so excited to have you on the show again.
[00:05:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm excited to be back.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:56] Speaker C: A whole year.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: Exactly. I mean, because I'm assuming that our listeners listen to us day in, day out, 365 days, days a year, 52 weeks a. Like, all. All of that good stuff. So they probably remember last fall when you and our other team member Brendan Rosman were on the show, but now it's been a year.
[00:06:16] Speaker C: Yeah. So full circle. And then also seeing Yalls new setup is really cool, too. Like, it's just great to see we're fancy now.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah, we're so fancy, y'. All. We. We need to make a video streaming of our recording. You would see us rocking out the headsets that kind of mess with my bangs. It's awesome. But so listeners who may not have gotten to listen to your original episode yet, Vanessa, can you tell them about you? You know, kind of talk about that professional and academic background prior to coming to ua?
[00:06:50] Speaker C: Yeah, so I grew up in Texas, so I went to Texas A and M for my undergrad and for graduate school.
So I have my bachelor's of science in sociology, and then I have my master's of science in health education, and I also got my certified health education specialist credential as well while I was in grad.
So, yeah, those are all of my credentials, my background. I moved here about a year ago for my health promotion specialist position, and then I got the assistant director position. So it's been really great for me so far.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Yay. Well, okay. I have Lots of thoughts. So, first, I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand or maybe two hands the amount of times I heard you say roll tide since you've been in your role. But second, Nika, I don't know if you were thinking about this when Vanessa mentioned having that bachelor's in sociology and then into health promotion.
I'm kind of curious, like, what made you decide to go that route grad school wise?
[00:07:47] Speaker C: Yeah, well, health promotion kind of fell into my lap. I. So I first thought I wanted to be a nurse when I was an undergrad, and then I took anatomy, and I thought, I can't. I don't know if I can do this. So I kind of. I took a sociology course, and that really opened my eyes to sociology, and I loved it, and it was easy for me because I enjoyed it. So I was like, let me just change my major. So I did, not knowing what I was going to do with sociology.
And then an opportunity at Texas A and M opened up where I could be a peer mentor for their freshman classes. So kind of like compass courses here.
And I was paired up with the health promotion specialist at A and M. So I got to go and visit their office and got to meet their team and work with them really closely, and that kind of opened my eyes to what health promotion was. So I knew I wanted to do something with health when I first started off, but I didn't know what that looked like.
So when I met the health promotion specialist specialists at A and M, I was like, this is. This is it. So that's kind of how I got here, which is kind of a weird, roundabout way, but I feel like that happens for a lot of people. You go in to college with an idea what you want to do, and you end up pivoting to something extremely different.
But I think it's, you know, where I'm meant to be. So it's been great.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: So I love all our guests, but I'm geeking out because she's a fellow health educator. I mean, that's what I do. And I.
You're my people, you know, I love it. So I'm so excited to have you on today.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Yes. And I'm kind of curious, too. And this is not because we work in the same department together, but I am curious. What have been your favorite memories so far, working in the department of Health Promotion and Wellness?
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Yeah. So I think first off is definitely working with Project Health. It's such a unique program. I know there's a lot of peer education programs across different universities.
But I feel like Project Health is just. I mean, it's renowned, you know, like, everybody knows it here. They see it all around campus. So I really enjoy working with the students that are a part of it and then also with the team. I love the health promotion and wellness team and doing all of our team building. So that has been probably my favorite memory so far, is doing team building activities. It's really helpful to do professional development and get to know the team, to be able to know how we work together, because we are such a small department that it's really important that we know what our strengths are, what we need more assistance on, and things like that. So I think learning about the team has been really fun for me. And then also just having all the fun activities after that. So it's like, you know, a really good balance. Balance of work and play. So, yeah, I love that.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: Well, you know, Vanessa, as you're sharing your story, I'm thinking about you, Neeka, as a fellow health educator. And I feel like, if memory serves me correct, and we've known each other for a while, I feel like your path to the health promotion profession was also non traditional in a way. Right. Because you started in a completely different background.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Correct, correct.
Got my undergraduate degree at the university in public relations, communication.
And they were like, you have to choose a minor by your sophomore year. And I was like, okay, what? They're like, just whatever interests you.
So I've always loved health, you know, wellness, fitness. I was, you know, teaching step aerobics at, like, 15, because I just loved it.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I'm kind of a geek like that. But I chose nutrition and fell in love with it, but loved it in the way that it was, how we put it together as humans. Just every day, like the building blocks. Like, I mean, with you being a dietitian, it is very much your medical. You're scientific. You know, for me, I didn't get that deep. I just loved how, like, this is how the human body works, and this is why we have to have zinc and we have to have a vitamin A. And this is what it does. Like, it was just amazing to me how we were built and how it all goes together.
I worked for five years and one day, five years in, one day in pr, I got vested in the company, and then I quit and changed careers. Came back to grad school in my late 20s to pursue a degree, a master's degree in health promotion, health education, because I wanted to teach preventive health. I wanted to give people the knowledge and the tools to empower them to be in the driver's seat of their health and, you know, patient centered care in collaboration with their healthcare providers and just giving them, you know, that self advocacy kind of voice. And so I thought the best way to do it is to. To teach it. And so went back to grad school and that's. Yeah. But worked at the rec center, which is, you know, for years as a personal trainer. Yeah, I wanted kind of like Vanessa, the sociology part. I was so intrigued by human behavior. Why do we do the things we do? Why do we not do the things that we're supposed to do, even though we know they're good for us and they're beneficial? And I'll throw myself out there. I know I need to drink more water.
I don't do it. And I know why. It's because I don't like the taste.
And I'm like, grow up, Nika. Like just drink it. And I'm like, I resort back to that three year old that goes, it ain't got no taste on it. That's what I used to tell my mom. And so just to. And understanding that about me makes it so much easier to understand why people are not adherent to things or, you know, do what's best for them. And so I learned that human behavior through personal training and then, you know, through my classes and just kind of put it all together and here I am.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: Well, I appreciate you sharing that. And I think for all of us in this room, we really feel value in helping whoever our target population is make that connection between this head knowledge that they're learning about their health and then actually equating that to behavior change and really figuring out what are those obstacles. How can we make this more accessible, you know, when we're looking at this from the environmental or cultural lens. And so I think that we can all geek out in that way for sure. Absolutely.
[00:14:07] Speaker B: Which is why I wanted to ask Vanessa, I don't know how we are on time, but what is your area that you geek out about?
[00:14:14] Speaker C: So for me, I feel like there's multiple. But I think what really got me into health promotion and wellness is interpersonal violence prevention at A and M. I had a really big hand in helping out with their team with that specific area.
And I also worked at a domestic violence shelter as well. So having both sides of that was really helpful in me, kind of nourishing that passion. And that's like something that I'm extremely passionate about is just making sure. You know, everybody knows that they deserve a healthy love and, you know, healthy relationships, whether that's with a roommate or a friend or, you know, a romantic partner. I think it's just important that people know those signs of, like, what to look out for if they think they may be in an unhealthy relationship.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: And I love that about us in health education because we all get really geeked out about all different things. It's not like we're all like, hey, let's go work out and eat, right? Like, I think that's what people think about us. I'm like, that's important. But I'm going to geek out out about this over here. Whereas you're geeking out about that. Somebody's geeking out about, like, you know, the environmental health. We all have a piece of the puzzle. And I love that.
[00:15:22] Speaker A: No, you're so right. And I think that, like, that's a great pause moment for us because we've got to take a break, y'. All. But on the other side of the break, Vanessa, we want to take an even deeper dive in your role in health Promotional Wellness. And then also just what the department does in general. And when we're hopeful that you can share that with us, hopefully I can share that with you, too. But you are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the Capst.
WVUAFM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Hey, listeners, you are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and N on 90.7 the capstone. And we are joined today by Vanessa Garcia, who is the assistant director of UA's Department of Health Promotion and Wellness with our lovely host, Sheena.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Co host, friend, listen, you are the.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: Captain of the ship. You really are.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: Well, we can be cruise ship directors together because we take our listeners on a wild ride.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: We do.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: And then we also go rogue sometimes with the questions for our guests. But we're not gonna do that right now. We might do that in a little bit. But, Vanessa, before the break, we were talking a bit about your professional and academic background prior to coming to ua, your passion areas within the field. And, you know, we've mentioned so much the Department of Health Promotional Wellness. But can you tell our listeners what is the Department of Health Promotional Wellness and what kind of services could a student or just you, a community member, expect to find from our office?
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Yeah. So first off, the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness has the most amazing team.
I think that they just, you know, we all work really well together. They're really passionate about what they do. So whenever students need us, we will be there. If we don't know, we will get them to where they need to be.
So that's the thing I admire about them. And that's definitely kind of a service that's not advertised on our website. But we are here for them, whether it's our services they need or somebody else's. But what we do is we basically have a lot of events around campus that pertain to health promotion and wellness. So anything that college students are going through like mental health, stress management, nutrition, anything like that, we talk about it, we have an event on it, we have an awareness week on it, or we even do presentations as well in classrooms. Sometimes professors will request us to come in and talk to them about alcohol and other drug education or about getting that stress management or financial wellness.
Those are the main things we do. We also help out with Project Health, our peer education program that I mentioned earlier.
We just help manage the logistics of it, but it's a very student forward organization. We try to give them the reins on all that, but we try to help support them in the, you know, behind the scenes.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: Yeah. And as far as your role in the department, Vanessa, can you tell listeners what health topics you primarily focus on and kind of what your responsibilities are within the office?
[00:18:32] Speaker C: Yeah, so I'm the assistant director, as we've mentioned, but I help out with the peer education group, Project Health. And then I also my topic area is mental health. So I will be, if your professor requests me for it, you'll be seeing me in there for stress management management.
And then I'm also for this semester helping out with Alcohol Awareness Week, which will be later in October.
And then before that we'll have Wellness Week. So I've been kind of manning the ship with all that and the health fair that will be happening during that week as well.
Let's see, what else do I do? I'm also on the way of being a liaison for professors to help connect them with our department to become an intern or do their applied practicum experience with us. So that's been really great. We had two students last semester that did their applied practicum experience with us and they were amazing and it was really fun to work with them.
And then I also do all of our assessment and goal planning as well in the department.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: Yes, you, you manage so many different things and I'm, I'm so grateful that we're able to work together. As you mentioned, Vanessa, I feel like we have a Phenomenal team. And you're certainly a magic. And the part of that I probably won't go as far as to tell our listeners what we call ourselves in the office, because that's like, you know, Anik, I'll tell you. And it's not nothing scandalous. It's just, you know, it's just like our secret code talk. But, you know, I think that with all of the different things that you mentioned, Vanessa, I feel like it would be important for us to acknowledge that we cannot do the work that we do without so many of our campus partnerships.
Can you tell our listeners about some of the different departments that we typically partner with?
[00:20:20] Speaker C: Yeah, so we work a lot with the Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services Department, the Camellia Center. We also work with the Counseling center.
I feel like those are the main ones because we're all under kind of the same umbrella with health and well being.
So, yeah, those are the main ones, I would say.
[00:20:37] Speaker B: Yeah, we had the CRC on last week, listeners, if you were listening. So when she threw back to the crc, that was the Collegiate recovery.
[00:20:45] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: I. But yes, so many partnerships. And then. Vanessa, would you mind telling Nika and I about Wellness Week? I know you just mentioned that a little bit ago.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Wellness Week is basically a week that we have dedicated to all things wellness. So we have some events coming out of our department and then some coming out from our fellow campus partners.
So some things to look forward to. Definitely the health fair. That's probably our biggest ticket item during that Wellness Week.
So basically, students can go get to meet other campus departments, get to meet local resources as well to get connected with the community and learn more about how they can be empowered to take care of themselves while they're here and then even after they graduate. So that's one of the ones that we're having. One of the events that we're having during that week, we also have a lunch and learn happening for Financial Wellness Happening that's being led by Brendan Rossman.
He's doing great work with financial wellness. We also have a career fair that is hosted by the Career Center.
I believe they have two different kinds. So one's for engineering specifically. So if you're in engineering, that would be a really great spot for you to go meet potential employers, get connected.
And then Sheena is helping out with grocery store tours. So that's gonna be really fun. I would love to go to a grocery store tour if I were a student. And just like, especially with like a dietitian and like, teaching me how to stay on a budget and like get all the nutritious things that I need. I think that's gonna be a really fun event.
And then we also have the counting center doing Talk Saves Lives. So if you're interested in that as well, that's a really important program that they're putting on during that week as well.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Okay, I'm excited. I'm already, my wheels are turning thinking about how I'm gonna promote this to my students and be like, hey, I'm gonna need you to go and bring back receipts about what you see yourself maybe doing in the future in some of these roles. Like, you know, when, like looking at like the campus partners or like you giving, you know, tours or the financial wellness, like what is going to ignite your passion area.
Go out and see the lay of the land all in one spot, you know?
[00:23:03] Speaker A: Nika, I don't know if you feel this way. I feel like we did not have as robust of wellness programming for students. We did not back in the day when we were in undergrad and grad school as we do now.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: I would have eaten it up with a spoon.
It was just not there.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: So now I am that old scary woman who comes running up to the project help Health hut. And I'm like, what y' all doing? This is great stuff. I mean, like, I know they think I have, you know, flown the coop because I'm like, I would have loved this as a student. So I'm kind of living vicariously through my middle aged life now.
[00:23:40] Speaker A: Hey.
[00:23:41] Speaker B: And they're like, do you want a button? And I'm like, yes, I want five of them, please. I mean, like, I love what you are doing.
And I also want to tell our listeners who may be new to campus that this is not your high school health class, where it is just so.
And I ain't hating on everybody's health classes. I'm gonna hate on mine. I'm old, so I can talk about it. But it was like, wash your hands, cover your sneeze, don't drink and drive. Those are all important.
But what I love about you guys is you're so transparent and real, like you're just telling the truth. And I think that's how students relate so well to y'. All. Because you're not trying to be.
You're not sugarcoating anything. You're not trying to be in their face about it, but you're just being like, let's have these conversations. Let's talk about it. And this is, let's call it for what it is. And I love that and I would have loved it as a student.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: Well, I think, you know what I do appreciate about our institution and I think this is similar at other colleges too. Just the fact that our health promotion efforts are a separate entity from our employee wellness. And I think that that's what makes both program really strong because we're going to have two different approaches to how we are addressing the health needs for our target population during that specific season of life.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:25:06] Speaker A: You know, and so, and also too, I think with some of the things that Vanessa mentioned for Wellness Week, you know, we talked about some financial wellness related events, we talked about career fairs and we may have listeners that are thinking, what does this have to do with wellness? And so if you are not familiar with it, the University of Alabama has something called the Alabama Model of Health and well being that we utilize where we're really, whenever UA students and their family members are coming to campus, when we are telling a student's family members we are going to take care of your students, we're looking at this from this multifaceted approach where we're not only looking at your academic well being and your career well being, but we're looking at your financial well being, psychological well being, your physical well being and then your spiritual and social wellbeing. So there's all of these different avenues because I think that we know that it's not just about making the grades like you could be academically successful, but if you're not this well rounded individual who has these different tenets for making you have a sense of belonging on campus, that can be really tough.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Yeah, it's all about your quality of life. You know, I mean you can be a 4.0 student and have a great friend group, but if the financial area or the mental or the spiritual or something is off kilter, you're not your best self.
[00:26:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:27] Speaker B: And you feel it and you know it for sure.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: I. This is a great time to take a break. But, but on the other side of the break, Vanessa, I know we've been, you know, talking about pure education and project Health and I want the listeners to have an even better idea of what that is. So you guys, we're going to take a quick break, grab a drink of water, run to the restroom, do what you got to do. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 in the capstone WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: Welcome back listeners. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the capstone. And we are joined by Vanessa Garcia, a fellow health educator who is also the assistant director with our amazing host, Sheena over in the UA Department of Health Promotion and Wellness.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: That's right. And if you are just now joining us, y' all need to go back and listen to earlier parts of this show so that you can specifically learn about Vanessa, her passions for health promotion. Also hearing some background stories about how Neeka fell into the industry as well. And then also we, we recently discussed some of the different services and programs within the Department of Health Promotional Wellness. And one of the terms that we've kind of casually thr in our conversation has been this term, peer education, and then more specifically, something called Project Health that is under the umbrella of Health Promotional Wellness. So, in a nutshell, Vanessa, what is peer education?
[00:28:09] Speaker C: It's a great question.
Basically, students teaching students. You know, we get students up to speed with, you know, what specific health topic needs to be taught to the population, and once they feel, you know, empowered to do that, they go out and tell other students about it. And we believe students learn better from other students, people that are in that same season of life as they are. So they tend to want to tune in and listen to what their fellow peers have to say. This is what I learned when I was in college, and this is what I would have appreciated to know about stress management or time management. So it's basically what peer education is.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I'm actually going to jump a little bit. So before we go into the ins and outs specifically of our peer education program, Project Health, I want to kind of circle. I realized that I failed to ask what, like what exactly? Which college health issues, what makes those unique compared to the general population? So, you know, when you were talking about peers educating peers, I feel like there are probably certain health topics for the college student that a student would probably feel more comfortable talking to a peer about versus their parents or a professional or me, who.
[00:29:28] Speaker B: Who they see as their parent.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Right. So, I mean, you know, it's easier to have those conversations with somebody who's in that same season of life, like I mentioned, or even just somebody who you just feel comfortable talking to. People may not feel comfortable talking to someone who's older and like, you know, this is a person of authority. What if they tell somebody else, you know, which is really understandable. So I think, you know, on topics such as, you know, sexual health may be something people don't really want to talk about with other People, but they're friends, people they can confide in, people they trust. Those are people they want to talk to.
So that's why it's really important for students to get plugged in and understand these topics. So when their friend approaches them and says, hey, I need advice on this, they know where to refer them to. They know the resources, they know all those things. So I think that's something that's kind of unique, is that students are looking to other students, to their friends, and.
[00:30:19] Speaker B: They'Re giving them accurate information. Right.
[00:30:21] Speaker C: And that's what's really important. And you know, you're going to these events to learn for yourself, of course, but you're also trying to learn for other people around you. So they are also equipped to understand how to take care of themselves.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: Yeah, I feel like, especially in the day and age of social media now, you know, whenever I'm going to do a nutrition presentation with students and I'm talking about the concept of peer education, you know, a lot of times whenever we start a new eating style or workout style or whatever else, it's not because, you know, we saw some like professional in a completely different season of life doing it. It's because it's something that our roommate or other PE or an influencer that is in the same season of life as us is doing. And it worked for them.
So maybe it would work for me. Cause I'm also in that season of life. But I think that what is really great about the peer education efforts that we do on our campus and other campuses is that we're equipping these peer educators with evidence based information, which I feel like is the most magical unicorn terminology that all of us in this room geek out over. Because it's like, give me evidence based all day long. Right.
So. So with that said, Vanessa, tell listeners a little bit specifically about our Project Health organization on campus.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: Yeah, so there's about 130 peer educators in Project Health and it's comprised of four different branches. So we have health hut, which is probably a little bit more familiar to everybody since they're in that gazebo looking structure.
And then we have health ambassadors, we have healthy minds, and then we have health advocates.
So each of them, they all have a specific health topic that they go over and they do a sub health topic. So an example of that could be if the health topic of the week is alcohol, one branch would do binge drinking, another branch would do standard drink sizes. So you kind of get all the different areas of that health topic. So it's really important that if you see them to stop at different tables because they're all not doing the same thing.
[00:32:22] Speaker B: Oh, good to know.
[00:32:24] Speaker C: So you can get, you know, it's the same promo item, so you'll get the same thing, but you'll get new information that could be helpful. And if you're like, well, I wanted to learn about this, not this. Look for a different table around campus, and they'll probably hit it on the. Note us with that.
[00:32:38] Speaker B: So can you explain to our listeners who may be not as geeked out about this as we are, what is the difference between a health ambassador and a health advocate?
[00:32:48] Speaker C: Yeah, so basically just what they do. So health ambassador, they mainly do one or they do one shift a week.
So you'll see different people at the table, but they will also do a social media slide.
So that's kind of their extra thing that they do. And then a health asset advocate, they don't have a table, so you may run into a health advocate when you're in line at Starbucks and they come and say, hey, have you heard about this before?
And then you can play a fun game and then get the promo item. So it just depends on who you're, you know, running into. But health advocates do more so informal, and they go out and meet you where you are.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: So it's really based on, like, your personality. Are you an introvert? An extrovert? Yeah. How are you? How do you want to educate?
[00:33:35] Speaker A: Right.
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:36] Speaker A: Because when I think about our advocates and the informal programming they do, it's definitely that guerrilla tactic, kind of grassroots. Yeah, Like. Yeah, because they're gonna catch you off guard. You know, you're like, they're in the trenches.
Whereas I feel like with the hut, you have to physically approach it. But then you also. Depending on the personality of the person at the hut, you know, they've gotta say some things enticing to, you know, get those introverts over there. And so, Nika, if you. If you were to be a student again and you were interested in joining Project Health, what. What kind. What kind of ways would you want to interact with someone? Like, I feel like hut is fun, but then I also am. I. I get nervous about, like, trying to, like, entice people to come to me. I don't know.
[00:34:23] Speaker B: I feel like a kiosk in the mall that's like, come over here, Let me show you how to straighten your hair. Yeah. And you're like, no, thank you. No, thank you. I'm on my way. You know, I gotta go.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:32] Speaker B: I think if I was a student, I probably wanted to have done the hut.
Now that I'm older, I am comfortable approaching people.
I think, yeah, be the advocate in this old age of mine. But as a student, I think until I built up my confidence, yeah, I'd probably felt good about people coming to me and then me just giving them the education and them going on their way. But then probably by senior year, I'd probably be chasing people down going, hey, yeah, you want some sunscreen? It's really hot today. Yeah. Protect that.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: Yes. Skin cancer is a thing.
Yeah. Now, Vanessa, for our listeners who are like, oh, my gosh, I would love to do this, but do I have to be a health related major to do this? What would you say?
[00:35:19] Speaker C: I would say no. I mean, I think with our application process, we really just look for the passion.
Someone who's really invested in health and wellness and really wants to educate their peers on it. So I would say no. I think, you know, as long as you're again, passionate about it, you want to meet those expectations, you want to put in the time.
We would love to have you, if you are willing.
[00:35:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: Now, is it a rolling recruitment process for this organization or does it just happen once a year? Once a semester? What does that look like for students interested?
[00:35:52] Speaker C: Yeah, so it's once a semester. So we already have our fall peer educators. But we are in the process of opening up our applications for the spring, and I believe the deadline for that is October 26th.
[00:36:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: Once that is up and running, it'll be on the website.
[00:36:08] Speaker A: Yay.
[00:36:09] Speaker C: Perfect.
[00:36:09] Speaker A: And then do you want to throw out a social media handle for Project Health for students to follow?
[00:36:16] Speaker C: That's a great, great question.
So we recently just got rid of most of them, but the main Project Health one is UA Project Project Health on Instagram. So. Yes, go ahead and follow.
[00:36:30] Speaker A: And Nika, I saw that facial express. We, we did have it where we had multiple accounts for each branch, but we decided to just consolidate it under the main umbrella of. Of Project Health.
[00:36:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Something happened.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: Yeah, no.
[00:36:47] Speaker B: That, you know, that cigarettes or something and you're like, no, no, the hackers got us. Like, I didn't know.
[00:36:53] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's a great assumption in today's day and age, you know, you just never know. But okay, y', all, we have to take another break. But in our closing segment, we hope that Vanessa is willing to stay on with us because I've got one more question for you and then we'll. We'll shut her down. But y' all we have got to take that break. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 in the capstone Foreign Tuscaloosa.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, listeners. You're listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. And as we wrap up today, we just want to thank our guest, Vanessa Garcia with UA's Department of Health Promotion and Wellness for being an amazing.
[00:37:48] Speaker A: Yes, I have so enjoyed our conversation today and one of the things that we didn't get the opportunity to talk about in our last segment that I am so glad that we're able to bring up now, Vanessa, I'm kind of curious, what would be your biggest piece of advice that you would give college students as they aim to establish their own routine of health and well being?
[00:38:09] Speaker C: I would say get connected. I think knowing what's available to you on campus is really empowering so you're able to think about, okay, what are things I need more help on, you know, who can I connect with? Who can I talk to about this? And really getting that accurate evidence based information you need to really establish, you know, a routine that works for you. You know, because you can Google it all day long and it may not work for you.
It's better to kind of talk to somebody who kind of knows where you're at, knows the environment you're in. And I think there's a lot of great people at UA that can help you get connected to that.
[00:38:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: For free.
[00:38:45] Speaker C: Yes, for sure.
[00:38:46] Speaker B: Because once you get out in the railroad world, those services aren't free for us in the world. You mean like give me. There's some things but you know, like, I mean, I have to pay a pretty penny to get some of these services as a working adult.
[00:39:01] Speaker A: I mean, I feel like, yes, I, you know, just the fact that for us as a university, we're in this bubble where you have this concentrated accessibility to these different services to help you in this season of life. You know, really help you dabble with what you would want to have as part of your health and well being in the long term. You know, maybe this is where you dabble in therapy and you're like, wow, I can see how this is just instrumental to my mental health, just for just having an outsider professional perspective, for building my toolkit for stress management, for, you know, how I'm perceiving information, processing it. And I think also too with that connection piece, Vanessa, just to kind of within that same vein, I think that one interesting thing about college and making those relationships with others is that we get into this point in adulthood where we see that sometimes there are friendships, that they serve us in a specific season, but they're not as ongoing. And that's okay. Sometimes there can be some.
Some natural closing of chapters with friendships, and it doesn't have to be this dramatic situation, but it's just, you know, it's just part of kind of people coming in and out of our lives during this time that we're in undergrad, grad school, school, or anything else.
[00:40:21] Speaker C: Right.
[00:40:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: I don't know why I went like philosophical friendship with that, but, I mean, but really.
[00:40:26] Speaker B: But really, I. I think for students to be able, like you said, to dabble in these free services that are manned by professionals.
This is a great time to build that toolkit for when you are 35, 40, 45, 80, and something happens in your life and you can draw back on your experience that you got. You saw a therapist in college, or you remember going to see a dietitian, or you remember advocating for your health or going to the crc, something, because then you have that kind of self confidence and self efficacy to go back on and say, I had a history with that and that worked for me at one point. And I. I don't know what I. What I'm looking for.
[00:41:15] Speaker C: Right. And I think even like, you know, if they had that experience or not, you know, I think it's good for people just to have this information so they can pull it back. So even if it's not applicable to what you're going through right now, it could affect you later on down the road.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: Lighter.
[00:41:29] Speaker C: Right. Or even the people around you. You know, just being like this might not benefit me right now, but maybe this could help somebody else in the future. It could help me in the future. So I think that's a really good way to think about it. You know, it's like, oh, well, I'm good with my money right now. I don't need to go. But you. Once you start, you know, budgeting, it can get a little tricky.
[00:41:48] Speaker B: Yeah. I think about, like, this is aging me buttons. You know how like when you buy like a suit or something, it comes with these extra buttons and you just throw them in your, like, bag. I know some people have a sewing kit, but you can just throw them in like a button bag and you're like, I'm not going to need that until you need it one day.
Let me reach into my bag of tricks here and get that button. I feel like, that's, you know, what we're doing. It's like just be open to the experience. You never know when you need to reach back in and pull it out for a friend.
[00:42:22] Speaker C: Right?
[00:42:23] Speaker A: Okay. I think right there, that's a mic drop moment. That was perfect. Nika, thank you for wrapping that in a bow. Like, you and Vanessa just tag teamed on that.
And I, I was just spectator. I was just like, I ain't got nothing to add to that because that was magic. But, y', all, we have had a fantastic show. Vanessa, once again, yes, thank you for being with us.
Nika, thank you always for being so amazing.
[00:42:48] Speaker B: Thank you for, for guiding the ship down the middle of the ocean.
I do appreciate you.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Well, I, she, she says that because I'm the one that clicks the magical things on the computer. That is really intimidating for both of us with this recording equipment. But y', all, y' all have a fabulous week. We will catch you next time on Fit to be Tied.
Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
