BYU’s Student Wellness program is providing wellness coaching on the basics of nutrition, fitness, stress management and more.
BYU civil engineering student Shannon Anderson recently attended one of these wellness meetings because she saw signs for it on campus. She said the first part of the meeting was spent answering questions and then they moved into setting up future plans and goals.
“I know the basics of what I should be doing but am I reporting to anyone? No. So am I doing it? Kind of,” Andersen shared.
BYU exercise and wellness students Kemri Stephens and Alessia Merrill are two of the wellness coaches with the program. They said they are passionate about helping others learn more about maintaining their health.
“It’s really just trying to help students build a healthy lifestyle and honestly, every single one of my sessions have been so different so it depends on the student, because we want to help them in the way that they need,” Stephens said.
Merrill and Stephens said the wellness coaching appointments can either be a one-time appointment or they can build off each other throughout the semester. Scheduling multiple appointments makes it easier for the coaches to check in with goals and adjust them as needed.
According to the Student Wellness website, coaches talk students through several topics such as how to use gym equipment, the importance of macronutrients, strengthening relationships with themselves and others, intuitive eating, combating stress and more. These topics and sections are focused on building lasting change.
“Part of our mission statement for student wellness is to help students live their best (lives) so I think this whole program really helps them take their next step to doing that,” Student Wellness Program Administrator Amanda Delacruz said.
According to Delacruz, this program has been around for two or three years and started because they had seen it done at other universities. She said she has loved seeing her coaches get more confident in their coaching and implementing what they are learning in their classes throughout the program.
Moving forward, Delacruz said they are going to focus on marketing their wellness coaching so more students can participate in them. They currently have weekly booths in the Wilkinson Student Center and workshops centered around topics taught in the wellness coaching session.
They recently held a meal preparation workshop where the coaches taught students the basics of meal prepping. They had a Kahoot quiz, discussed intuitive eating and talked about what meal prepping really is.
The students then got the opportunity to plan out meals for the following week and pack a lunch for the following day with food provided by the wellness program.
These workshops and private wellness coaching sessions are great opportunities for students to build a healthy lifestyle while attending BYU. “Particularly with the wellness coaching, the outcomes can really change students’ lives I think. It’s great to see, it makes me so proud,” Delacruz said.
