Wellness Week begins with in-person activities, giveaways
A pair of students enjoy the weather on the Main Quad on Oct. 18, 2019. The Student Affairs Wellness Committee is hosting multiple activities in the coming days for Wellness Week.
March 22, 2021
This week, students will have the opportunity to participate in Wellness Week, a program hosted by the Student Affairs Wellness Committee. The program includes both in-person and virtual activities focused on the development of wellness and well-being in students.
Giveaways will also be hosted at various locations throughout the campus, giving away free food and University of Illinois merchandise.
Dr. Deidre Weathersby, associate director at the Counseling Center and a co-chair for the Wellness Committee, sees wellness as a multifaceted approach to improving quality of life.
“There’s a core understanding of wellness being an eight-dimensional realm which we can all understand and quantify,” Weathersby said.
This eight-dimensional realm can include not just physical wellness, but also emotional, financial, mental and even environmental wellness, in order to fully optimize well-being.
The week includes various activities; each seeks to target the various dimensions of wellness, both physical or mental.
An important distinction must also be drawn between wellness and well-being, according to Alana Harris, associate director for Assessment and Student Wellness.
“Wellness is a set of habits and behaviors, and well-being is a state of mind,” Harris said.
The goal of Wellness Week is primarily to encourage habits and behaviors which contribute to well-being as a mindset.
A collaborative effort from departments across campus, Wellness Week includes both virtual and in-person events, although all in-person activities will be modified to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.
The in-person activities target habits such as fitness and social engagement, while the virtual activities primarily focus on teaching new habits and skills to students. Giveaways will be hosted across campus to encourage students to get outside and be active.
Another aim of Wellness Week for this year was “demonstrating that we can do some stuff in person safely too for those that need connection, in person and to their community,” Harris said.
