UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Health Promotion and Wellness, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, is seeking applicants for HealthWorks, a peer outreach and education program designed to promote healthy behaviors among students. Applications for the 2023-24 academic year are being accepted through March 13.
HealthWorks encourages students with an interest in health and wellness to get involved with the program and earn academic credit. Through the program, students are trained to facilitate one-on-one wellness services, conduct educational workshops and outreach events ,and share health information through other initiatives.
“In an age of misinformation, it’s really important to share accurate health information,” said Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW) Community Health Educator Kate Rawson. “We know that students are more receptive to hearing new information when they’re learning from someone who looks like them.”
The academic course teaches students about health behavior theory, health promotion strategies, and health issues relevant to the college population. Participation in the program involves a minimum three-semester commitment — one semester of training and two semesters of service. Given the time commitment, students who apply must plan to graduate no earlier than December 2024.
The program focuses on sexual health and healthy relationships, nutrition, physical activity, stress and sleep. The main goal is to foster behaviors that support academic success and well-being. It also includes teams of students that focus on different health topics.
In addition to conducting wellness services, fourth-year nutrition major Juli Ombaldo leads the Body Image and Eating Disorder team.
“I saw an opportunity to help other students learn more about nutrition specifically, but then I also thought it was interesting that I myself could learn about a lot of other health topics that I am not as familiar with,” Ombaldo said. “Through HealthWorks, I feel like I have been able to relate to a lot of students and really help them. I know a lot of people leave my sessions saying, ‘Oh wow, I really didn’t know that.’ I didn’t either until I came here.”
To apply, students must fill out an online application and submit their unofficial transcript to HPW by March 13. For more information about HealthWorks, visit the HealthWorks website. Applicants will be notified of their status by March 31.
Erin Raupers, assistant director for HPW, said the HealthWorks peer educators are invaluable to HPW’s efforts.
“We wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do in Health Promotion and Wellness without our peer educators. They expand our reach,” Raupers said. “We offer a lot of different one-on-one wellness services and workshops, and our professional staff wouldn’t be able to do all of that without them.”