wellness

Empowering wellness: Graduate student brings health education to Zimbabwe community

Katarina Benson — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 17:45:40 +0000

Empowering wellness: Graduate student brings health education to Zimbabwe community Katarina Benson Mon, 04/07/2025 - 13:45

Shannon Smith, a graduate student in George Mason �鶹��’s Kinesiology Program, is pioneering a transformative health and wellness education initiative in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Smith’s six-month community wellness program consists of health and wellness education for a cohort of 20 women. Participants receive education on diet, exercise, and mental health to ultimately become “wellness ambassadors” for their sub-communities.

Shannon Smith. Photo provided

The idea for this program came after Smith visited friends in Victoria Falls, where she saw a banner for Pathways–Africa, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to empower and assist the people of Africa through the mutual development of sustainable resources for community planning, education and health services.” Smith connected with the organization director via email, and together they identified the community’s health education gap. “I offered to [host] a couple of workshops, and it turned into this pilot program we’re trying to build,” Smith said.

The pilot program began earlier this year, when Smith facilitated an in-person workshop as the foundation for the content in the program. The cohort meets once a month for five months to discuss how they’re using the information, making changes, and sharing what they’ve learned. “At the end of the program, they’ll be more informed, have healthier lives, and be seen as leaders in their communities when it comes to wellness.”

Smith’s experience in Victoria Falls has strong connections to her current studies in the Kinesiology Program in the College of Education and Human Development. Her programming directly ties to health promotion, the concept of exercise as medicine, and to previous collaborations with George Mason kinesiology professor Debra Stroiney.

Smith and members of the program. Photo provided

“I helped Dr. Stroiney with some ‘Exercise Is Medicine' activities last semester and am really looking forward to continuing to work in this space of exercise and food as medicine, whether it’s for an athletic or general population.”

Smith has advice for anyone who wants to serve in their community. “Do it! Locally, it may be easier to find an organization or resources to start a small project. You’ll be able to see a direct impact close to home, which is always nice.”

For those who are interested in serving abroad, she advised, “globally, there are more factors at play, but the reward can be much bigger if the country doesn’t have the same resources.” She said that flexibility is the key to overcoming cultural, language or resource barriers.

Overall, Smith encourages anyone interested in service to get involved: “There’s always something to learn, you’ll make good connections, impact lives, and you’ll have fun, too.”

Learn more about George Mason's Kinesiology Program

Topics

College of Education and Human Development

health-based outreach

wellness

Students

Fall 2022 Yoga Day

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:31:40 +0000

Fall 2022 Yoga Day Wasiq Muhammad… Wed, 10/05/2022 - 14:31

With the arrival of the fall came the perfect breezy weather to cool participants off as beginners and regulars, alike, enjoyed an array of benefits from coming together to practice yoga.

Since its inception, Argento has valued being able to connect with current students while practicing yoga and teaching participants about its significance. For Friday’s session, Argento centered the breath as the starting point for any yoga practice, taking several moments to ground and center so that the students could notice and connect with their breath.

“I used that as an opportunity to remind the students that the asanas (physical poses) of yoga are excellent forms of exercise,” Argento explained. “At the same time, it is the movement and consciousness of the breath that cultivates yoga. In addition to our breath, we focused on engaging the core and moving mindfully to ease our bodies into the asanas.”

Throughout the session, Argento guided the group through the multiple benefits of practicing yoga, especially important for students in college:

Physically, yoga reduces blood pressure, improves balance and mobility, expands lung capacity, promotes better sleep, and more;

Mentally, yoga reduces stress and anxiety, promotes a sense of calm, supports the ability to focus, and more;

Spiritually, yoga offers students an opportunity to connect with their personal beliefs, their community, the world - it is an opportunity to explore ourselves and what we need to find balance through moving meditation.

Patti Troup, a third-year Honors student and three-time Yoga Day returnee, was excited to learn from Argento again and spend the afternoon out on Finley Lawn. In addition to reaping the rewards of yoga, Troup delighted in quality time with Honors peers, faculty, and alum: “I also love seeing Telecia from Honors College and seeing Jaime since we are both interested in the professional legal world.”

For students like Troup, Yoga Day brought a chance to take a necessary break from college commitments. “I like being active and mindful so practicing yoga whenever I can makes me happy,” she shared. “Any chance I get to clear my head and stretch my tense muscles will be taken advantage of.”

Missed this year’s Yoga Day? Look out for future opportunities with the Honors College to support your personal wellness and connect with the Honors College community!

Topics

George Mason �鶹�� recognized for creating a culture of wellness on campus

Melanie Balog — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 19:03:38 +0000

George Mason �鶹�� recognized for creating a culture of wellness on campus Melanie Balog Thu, 04/08/2021 - 15:03

George Mason �鶹�� is one of 153 universities and colleges recognized by Exercise is Medicine for its efforts to create a culture of wellness on campus.

The inaugural Mason Nation Virtual 5K, held from Oct. 15-17, and educational seminars helped Mason earn silver level designation from the Exercise Is Medicine^® On Campus (EIM-OC) program—an initiative supported by both the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Association. The silver designation recognizes Mason for engaging students, faculty and staff in education initiatives and making movement part of the daily campus culture.

“Even with the pandemic and shutdown, we were able to increase awareness of the program,” said School of Kinesiology Assistant Professor Debra Stroiney, who serves as the Mason campus advisor for Exercise Is Medicine On Campus. “We still have so much more we can do with this initiative, and I am looking forward to continuing to improve this program.”

Mason’s virtual 5K was organized by multiple offices across campus and raised almost $20,000 for the Student Emergency Assistance Fund and the Student Food and Housing Insecurity Fund.

Student-, faculty-, and staff-focused virtual events held in October for Exercise Is Medicine On Campus Month focused on improving well-being during the pandemic.

Mason also participated in the mascot challenge contest. Each participating school submitted a 90-second video showing its mascot participating in EIM-specific activities. The theme of the challenge was Sweating off the Stress. Watch Mason’s Patriot in action.

Mason also earned the COVID Conqueror badge, a new honor given to campuses that demonstrated creative adaptations to physical activity programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are thrilled to recognize these campuses’ commitment to make movement a part of daily campus culture and equip students with tools to cultivate lifelong physical activity habits, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Robyn Stuhr, vice president of Exercise Is Medicine.”

Of the 153 campuses recognized, 73 received gold, 59 silver and 21 bronze. All gold, silver and bronze universities and colleges will be officially recognized in June as part of the 2021 virtual Exercise Is Medicine World Congress, held in conjunction with the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting.

EIM-OC launched its recognition program in 2014 to honor campuses for their efforts to create a culture of wellness. View a complete list of recognized schools and learn more about the EIM-OC program at www.exerciseismedicine.org.

Topics

wellness

Empowering wellness: Graduate student brings health education to Zimbabwe community

Learn more about George Mason's Kinesiology Program

Related Stories

Topics

Fall 2022 Yoga Day

Topics

George Mason �鶹���� recognized for creating a culture of wellness on campus

Topics

George Mason �鶹�� recognized for creating a culture of wellness on campus