Launched at the Welcome Back Breakfast on August 26, 2015 and at a number of student-focused events that fall, the President’s Creative Challenge invited people from across Sheridan to make health and wellness easy and fun at Sheridan.
Participants were encouraged to focus on any or all of the dimensions of wellness, including spiritual, emotional, social, environmental, occupational, intellectual and physical.
After reviewing 20 submissions, the organizing committee has selected six finalists for the extent to which their proposed solution: meets various dimensions of wellness, is easy to adopt, is fun, unique and creative, is achievable for Sheridan and whether it has the potential to change the behaviour of the Sheridan community in a positive way.
Congratulations to the six teams of finalists, listed below in random order, who have been invited to make presentations about their solutions to Sheridan’s President and the Chairs of the Challenge on March 14:
Lifestyle Tracker –extension to the Sheridan mobile app by Ben Migotto, Brad Jacklin, Logan Rose and John Carden, students in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Kinesiology and Health Promotion) program. This enhancement will give students a visual representation of their day to day habits, including physical activity, food intake and academic workload. The app will also make healthy suggestions for the user based on location and provides an option for rewards and incentives. It also entails a health living database of information including healthy meal ideas that are student budget friendly and meal suggestions based on a user’s food log.
Sheridan Mini Campus Amazing Race by Sophie Clement, Nicole Jenicek, Roshell Maidment and Brooke Nairn, students in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Kinesiology and Health Promotion) program. The program helps first year students to transition to postsecondary studies by completing challenges in exchange for points. The tasks are intended to introduce new students to the services and resources found on campus, while building new relationships, meeting faculty and professors, and connecting with senior students who volunteer for the program and who can later become mentors for new students.
Mindfulness Strategies by Alyse Nishimura, Basil Joseph, Nicole Korstanje, Ryan Kelly, Paula Laing, Jenna Pulver, Diana Herholz, Carol Appelby, Vicki McAllister, Ally Paul, Natalie Fasano, Susan Anderson, Mary Ventrella, Amanda Latourell, George Georgopolous, Janice Galloway, Tania Iveson and Peer Mentors. This initiative seeks to mobilize the Sheridan community to strive for wellness in a holistic way by embedding mindfulness at different levels. Aspects include designated physical spaces where people can congregate to meditate, short facilitated weekly mindfulness mediation practice, and online resources about mindfulness practice.
Wellness Portal by Jacinda Frazer, Ida Gianvito, Mark Orlando, Vicki McAllister. The accessible and interactive portal will be a one-stop entry point to all seven dimensions of wellness at Sheridan. It groups the services of Sheridan into the areas of wellness they are intended to address, allowing users to quickly find the exact service that meets their needs. It also provides information about each dimension to get users thinking about how to implement wellness into their lives. It features suggested activities based on time available and includes a tracker and incentives.
On-Campus Food Garden by Jessica Derreck, Susan Hutton, Anna Pautler, Herbert Sinnock, Andrew Staples and Michelle Szabo. This community garden at the Trafalgar Campus will provide local, organic, in-season food, while enabling people to learn how food is grown and harvested. It offers educational and meditation opportunities, improved aesthetics, increased biodiversity on campus, and a chance to connect with nature, all while fostering strong community spirit and contributing to Sheridan’s sustainability mandate.
Experience Sheridan Health and Wellness by Mandi Buckner, Rossana Gorys, Michael Cassidy, Tanya Bedrossian, Che Marville and ELT student group. This initiative creates an integrated well-being model to nourish wellness at both the individual and collective level. Activities fall under the categories of Creative (drawing, painting, photography, acting, writing), Health (yoga, meditation, mindfulness, nutrition) and Giving Back (mentoring, coaching, volunteer opportunities). Activities are planned and implemented by the ELT group and coordinated through a web-based link.
Best of luck to all the finalists.
Stay tuned to the Insider in April where we’ll announce the outcome of this year’s Challenge.