Students Exercise Wellness

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 4, 2013) — Wellness is something many people take for granted. Not true of the 20 first-year students who are interested in maintaining healthy, well-rounded lifestyles by joining the University of Kentucky Living-Learning Program that focuses on wellness. 

Dubbed simply the Wellness Community, the program provides interaction with faculty and staff, a residential connection to UK 101, a focus on the six dimensions of wellness, use of personal trainers, and regular engagement with upper-class peer mentors. It is one of the oldest living-learning programs on campus.

Although this living learning community, housed in Kirwan II in the Commons Complex, is a good fit for students who are pursuing a bachelor's degree in health sciences or a related field, it is open to any first-year student interested in the topic and the lifestyle. Kirwan II features a convenient gym in the basement of the residence hall.

A variety of majors are represented in the wellness community, but over half are pursuing a degree in a health- or medical-related field. Bridgette Boyer, a dietetics major and a resident of the Wellness Living-Learning Program, joined the community to enhance her major and her experience.

“It’s been really fun,” Boyer said. “We have a really strong community, and the UK 101 class we take with it helps bring us together during the week. We do a lot of extra stuff, like lessons on physical activity, and we’re going to have personal trainers to help us.”

“The best part is definitely having (two live-in) mentors to help you, guide you and give you advice. You also have people that you know are interested in the same stuff as you.  So you don’t have to go out and find them; you already have people who are interested in being healthy and doing other stuff that you like to do,” she added.

Another facet of the Wellness Community is easing the transition to university living. In Boyer’s words, there is an “instant group of people” to engage and socialize with.

“I think that (a living-learning program) is an extremely good idea. It’s really beneficial (for) freshmen, especially if you don’t know anyone,” she said. 

The community is supported by the residence hall staff, specifically two resident advisors and Hall Director Alex Fields. The Department of Campus Recreation supports the community with two professional staff and one graduate assistant. These are Mark Lattin, Casey Gilvin and Julia Buchanan, respectively.

The mission of the Wellness Living-Learning Community, Lattin said, is to promote and educate its residents on a multi-dimensional approach to maintaining a positive quality of life and sense of well-being. Its objective is to provide educational programming opportunities in the areas of physical, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and vocational well-being.

“We want to help students maximize their experience at UK by emphasizing the reasonableness and value of good decision making both in the classroom and in their personal lives,” said Lattin, director of outdoor pursuits and club sports for Campus Recreation.

From a student’s perspective, “being a part of the wellness community was one of the best decisions I’ve made my freshman year,” Boyer said.

Celebrating its 25th year on campus in fall 2014, the Living Learning Program at the University of Kentucky provides students with an environment to learn where they live and to live where they learn. The Division of Student Affairs Office of Residence Life, creators of the program, collaborated with academic and other student success partners to complement the classroom experience. Through Living Learning Communities and Residential Colleges, UK offers students an opportunity to live and learn together in an integrated academic residential environment.

This dynamic residential experience offers specialized programming, interactions with UK faculty and staff, and a supportive community that focuses on student success. The program has grown exponentially in recent years with 965 students participating in 13 programs this fall. Six more programs will be added in fall 2014, nine times more than in 2008. For more information, visithttp://uknow.uky.edu/content/students-live-and-learn-uk.