Students supporting students was a theme at the first Fit Fair held at College of New Caledonia (CNC)’s Quesnel Campus this week.
The Fit Fair, hosted by the CNC Students’ Union in partnership with CNC, took place in the college’s atrium March 27 and featured stations with first- and second-year nursing students from the University of Northern B.C. offering services such as blood typing and blood sugar testing, a nurse coming in to offer STI/STD testing and information, a mindfulness session with Laurie Crawford, massages, free healthy snacks, fitness and yoga classes offered by Quesnel Arts and Recreation Centre staff, reiki sessions with Tanya Hjorth and an information table by Dan and Casey Campbell, who shared their expertise on essential oils and eating raw. Dan was diagnosed with MS in 2017, and the couple, who live in Kersley, are writing a book called Finding Us in MS.
“This whole event was to help our students with physical and mental health,” said Carman Hill, the office and services co-ordinator for the CNC Students’ Union. “It’s hard to make good choices when you are busy. We’re showing them there are ways you can de-stress — there are breathing techniques, or you can exercise. We’re helping students de-stress and showing them there are resources out there.”
This was the first time the students’ union put on a Fit Fair, and Hill says they would like to turn it into an annual event. She says they are also thinking of opening it up to the public next year.
Hill says this was a bit of a trial, and they are excited to take what they learned from this first event and incorporate it next year. For example, they would like to get the community more involved.
“I think this will definitely be something we will want to continue, and it will grow. It’s good for the community to see our little piece of Quesnel here,” she said. “The campus is beautiful, and we are always trying to make new contacts in the community. I think for the first one, it was really good.”
A lot of people went through the nursing students’ stations, getting their blood pressure and blood sugar tested and getting their blood typed.
“It’s so good for [the students] because they get a taste of what it’s like in the field,” said Hill.
Shaylin Cooley, the student rep for the students’ union, says these types of interactive stations that are more hands-on seemed very popular.
“It puts people out of their comfort zone a bit too, which is good,” she said.
Members of the CNC Students’ Union in Prince George also came to Quesnel for the event.
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Lindsay Chung
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