By Taylor Jensen /nw news editor
Faculty on NW Campus are being given the opportunity to “Hoot for Health.”
With a current theme of owls, Be Wise … Exercise is a program designed to improve the health and wellness of staff with the added benefit of friendly competition.
Assistant professor of health Tonia Pannell was hired in 2008 as a full-time instructor and wellness coordinator.
“With this position, I felt it was my responsibility to try to engage faculty and staff into a consistent form of fitness,” she said.
The program allows faculty to receive a sticker on the gym’s wellness board for every completed 25-30 minutes of vigorous exercise or 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. Once they reach the goal amount of stickers, they are eligible for a prize at the end of the challenge.
Pannell got the idea for the program from her elementary school librarian and her YMCA membership.
“When I was in elementary school, I remember my librarian putting a sticker on our bookmarker for each book we read. I was so proud of my accumulated bookmarker,” she said. “I’ve also been a member of the YMCA my whole life, and the branch where I’m from has a fun Christmas program where members can accumulate stickers for each time they attend the YMCA during the 12 days of Christmas.”
It’s rewarding to receive recognition on the wellness board, get immediate positive reinforcement after you work out and keep up fun and friendly competition with co-workers, Pannell said.
“I even caught one of our faculty members counting other member’s stickers,” she said. “Another time, one of our librarians competitively joked that her co-worker friend was cheating stickers.”
Pannell looks forward to the success of this semester and those to come.
“We have only just started, and we’ve had many wise owls sign up,” she said. “The program would have stopped by now if it wasn’t for the warm enthusiasm that our faculty and staff have for the program.”
Pannell also offers fitness consulting for faculty who may have questions regarding health and wellness. For more information, contact tonia.pannell@tccd.edu.
Anyone interested in Be Wise … Exercise can sign up in the WHPE gym lobby.
