Wellness Week Recap: What Students Learned, and How to Apply It
Wellness Week was held from October 7th-11th. Here’s a breakdown of what happened during Wellness Week, along with some tips on how to maintain your wellness.
Riya Alsabak | bresciabuzz.editor@bucsc.ca
Brescia’s Vice President of Student Life, Jamie Keltz, continued the annual BUCSC tradition of Wellness Week, with a focus on 2 of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness. The goal of the week is to teach the students at Brescia about wellness, and how to incorporate it into your everyday life. Let’s start with the beginning of the week.
Monday: Financial Wellness
Brescia had the pleasure of welcoming four guests:
Jessica Thomas: a representative from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) who specializes in wealth management
Rachel Brujins: one of Brescia’s own financial aid officers, who oversees OSAP applications.
Melissa Jean: the Brescia Management and Organizational Studies coordinator.
Danielle Greene: a third-year economics and accounting major, and the current Chief Financial Officer for the BUCSC.
Each guest brought unique financial knowledge to the table in hopes of broadening students’ understanding of financial wellness. Each panellist was asked: “What’s something about financial wellness you wished you knew as a student?” Here’s some of what they said:
Take advantage of student discounts: every year, Western provides students with a planner stocked full of different coupons to help you save money. Along with this there are plenty of places that, upon presenting your student card, you’ll receive discounts on clothes, meals, groceries, and plenty of other things.
Never feel afraid to ask questions: You don’t know what you don’t know. If you’re ever unsure about something, there are resources available at The Hive to help you.
Make a weekly or even monthly budget: Try to have an idea of what expenses you’ll need to take care of; there’s bound to be something that works for you and your budget.
Wednesday: Physical and Spiritual Wellness
The Brescia student body joined Emma O’Connor, owner of Femme Force Fitness , for a lesson in both physical and spiritual wellness. O’Connor lead students in an introductory kick-boxing class followed by a brief lesson in meditation.
When managing your wellness, both physical activity and peaceful meditation can be extremely beneficial; physical activity is an excellent stress-reducer and it can increase your energy, and spiritual activities like meditation can reduce stress, anxiety, and increase your overall well-being. O’Connor recommends moving your body every day; it’s easiest to do this in a safe space that makes you feel empowered. This could be your room, your local gym, or even somewhere outdoors. O’Connor also notes that morning meditation can seriously improve your spiritual wellness. Taking even 60 seconds of your morning to meditate can help you centre yourself and set your intentions for the day.
The Campaign for Wellness: The BUCSC Destress Challenge
Every day of Wellness Week, the BUCSC shared tips on how to destress (especially useful during midterm season!), and on how to maintain wellness. You can check out the BUCSC Wellness highlight on Instagram to view those suggestions. Students were asked to share photos of themselves applying those tips under the hashtag #BUCSCDestressChallenge for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Masonville mall. Congratulations to Emmalyn Bennett on winning the Destress challenge!
The BUCSC encourages every student to utilize the tips provided during Wellness Week; even if it’s something small. Staying hydrated, making sure you get enough sleep, and even using a planner can take you one step further on your journey to wellness. Don’t forget about all the resources Brescia has made available to you (find out more about those here), and keep your eye out for more of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness throughout the year.
