New England weather may not have made up its mind yet, but the spring season is technically already here. Next week, a big weekend looms ahead for University of Hartford students while an even bigger month moves upon us.
With spring supposedly here, and only four more weeks left in the semester, the University is setting the tone with the school’s first ever “Fresh Check Day” on Tuesday.
The event will take place on the Gengras Student Union (GSU) Green and will have interactive booths for students to have fun, relax and also be informed of their own health care and health services available to them on campus.
There will be 10 booths, each put on by a different campus organization with activities and information that covers different topics related to health. When registering for the event, students will receive a passport card in which they will need to get stamps from five booths to be eligible in a drawing for prizes.
Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Nick Pinkerton helped put the event together with Greek Life/Student Activities director Felecia Bumpus and Dean of Students/VP for Student Affairs Lee Peters.
For Pinkerton, the discussion began at conferences for college counseling directors where they would discuss, “How do we best do outreach and prevention work?”
“It’s important to let students know that our services exist, that taking care of yourself is important and to de-stigmatize help-seeking,” Pinkerton said. “How do we do that in a way that’s fun, engaging and effective?”
Hosting booths at Fresh Check Day will be The Jordan Porco Foundation, Student Success Center, Public Safety and Conduct, Student Health Services, Athletics and Aramark, Connections Health Education and Wellness, Student Activities and Multicultural Programs, Learning Plus and Campus Ministry, the Center for Community Service, and Residential Life.
Activities at each booth will vary from quizzes, to obstacle courses or games, to relaxation activities and much more.
“We’re hoping that it sends a positive tone of wellness,” Pinkerton said. “I think this time of year is stressful for a lot of students. It sneaks up on people and you come back after Spring Break and now it’s like, ‘We’re at the sprint at the end of the race.’
“Because it’s a stressful time, it’s important to keep perspective and take care of ourselves. Being able to have the community aware of these issues and getting to know what services are available to support students, that’s all the stuff we’re trying to get out there,” he continued.
Fresh Check Day is the signature program of The Jordan Porco Foundation, a Hartford-based non-profit organization that is committed to preventing suicide in high school, college and the college-entry student population. The events are hosted at colleges across the U.S., with most of them in the Northeast because of the proximity to location.
Pinkerton hopes that Fresh Check Day can become an annual event on the University of Hartford campus.
Weather permitting, UHart’s Fresh Check Day is scheduled to take place Tuesday, April 12 from noon – 4 p.m. on the GSU Green. If inclement weather does occur, it will be moved inside to the GSU Café.