Abby Taylor
Staff Writer
Over 200 students had the opportunity to speak with health professionals from around Troy to assess their physical health.
Trojan Outreach held a health fair in the Trojan Center ballrooms on Thursday, Oct. 20, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Typically what we do is a health and wellness fair, but this year we strictly decided to do health,” said Elizabeth Gerken, Trojan Outreach coordinator. “Health is very important. This is a time in our lives when we don’t really tend to take good care of ourselves.”
Gerken said she helps put together events for Trojan Outreach and coordinates with other clubs and businesses around Troy to host those events.
According to the CollegiateLink website, Trojan Outreach is “a peer education program that provides presentations, workshops, outreach campaigns and peer intervention for Troy University students.”
Students who attended received information from Trojan Outreach and walked around booths with various health professionals.
“We had different health risk assessments, we had glucose and cholesterol testing, and then we had chiropractic care and a massage therapist,” Gerken said.
Gerken said the overall purpose for the fair was to help students and faculty assess their overall health and to be aware of what is going on with it.
“The goal was really to get people to acknowledge where they are, how healthy they are or aren’t, and what initiative they can take to get to a healthier lifestyle,” Gerken said.
Groups with booths at the fair included the Office of Civic Engagement, iNFUSION Cryotherapy & Laser Center, Health Actions of Troy, Sodexo, Family Eye Center, Troy Regional Medical Center, Student Counseling Center, Bradford Health Services, and Southern Health Associates LLC.
Brooke Bishop, a junior exercise science major from Somerville, attended the fair with classmates.
“It has been a lot of fun seeing what your BMI (body mass index) is, getting your vitals done and your blood drawn,” Bishop said. “I really enjoyed it.”
After visiting all of the booths and talking with representatives, Bishop said one booth in particular was her favorite.
“The massage was my favorite part because the lady was really good with working through everything that might be wrong and fixing the tense muscles,” Bishop said. “She gave me some really good advice that I will use in the future.”
Robin Harr, a junior athletic training major from Chipley, Florida, was working the Kinesiology and Health Promotions booth, and checked students’ blood pressure.
“Students have seemed to be responding really well,” Harr said. “It’s always good to know what your blood pressure is so you can work on exercises or things to bring your heart rate down. It’s better to have a low blood pressure than a high blood pressure.”
Harr talked with students, checked their blood pressure and gave tips to attendees on how to improve their blood pressure and overall health.
“I want to be able to help people and see what exactly is wrong, and I enjoyed helping today to help me in the future,” Harr said.
Students and faculty responded well to the health fair, according to Gerken, Bishop and Harr.
“I am really proud of it, I thought it went very well, and I have no complaints,” Gerken said. “I hope next year it will be even better and bigger.”