Meet the 2016–17 Wellness Peer Educators!
Welcome back Marquette students!! I hope everyone had an awesome summer break and are already adjusting to the new academic year. The 2016–17 school year marks our second year having Wellness Peer Educators. We have a couple new faces this year and we wanted to once again introduce the students who are behind a ton of the awesome health and wellness initiatives you’ll be seeing around campus this year!
Returning WPEs:
Claire Klement
- Year: Senior
- Major: Biomedical Sciences
- Favorite Part of Being a WPE: Getting to know students and learning about how they want to improve wellness on Marquette’s campus
- Programs I Am Excited About: Bystander Intervention Training because it is important for students to take action for themselves and their peers to promote a safer and healthier campus.
- Fun Fact: My favorite food is Mexican — if you’re looking for good Mexican food in Milwaukee, definitely check out Bel Air Cantina and Vagabond!
Taylor Lefaiver
- Year: Senior
- Major: Biomedical Sciences/Physical Therapy
- Favorite Part of Being a WPE: Being a Wellness Peer Educator has really shaped how I view my own mental and physical health and how important it is! I want to be able to use what I’ve learned to help other students come to the same realization.
- Health Topic of Interest: Nutrition, Strength training
- Fun Fact: I watched all 9 seasons of How I Met Your Mother in two weeks… It was bad.
Megan Rapacz
- Year: Senior
- Major: Biomedical Sciences/Physical Therapy
- Favorite Part of Being a WPE: The community of coworkers who are all so passionate about campus wellness.
- Health Topic of Interest: Nutrition
- Fun Fact: I ran a half marathon with my mom this summer!
Chiara Shehata
- Year: Junior
- Major: Biomedical Sciences
- Favorite Part of Being a WPE: I loved planning events and seeing other students around campus get just as excited about wellness as I was!
- Health Topic of Interest: Body image
- Fun Fact: I have a minor obsession with cherry tomatoes (just minor)!
New WPEs:
Erin Bardonner
- Year: Junior
- Major: Biomedical Sciences
- Why I Became a WPE: Health and wellness is something that is very important to me personally, and is something that I know our campus could improve on in many different areas. I really like how the MU Health Clinic works through the Wellness Peer Educator team to promote student wellness in all aspects (mental, spiritual, physical), and I am very excited to see how our team is able to improve student wellness on Marquette’s campus in all of these areas this school year!
- Programs I Am Excited About: MU Late Night because I think that it is a great event to bring lots of Marquette students together in a stress-free, positive environment! I know this event was really popular, so I hope we can build on that even more this year!
- Fun Fact: I LOVE honeycrisp apples!
Mary Grace Fries
- Year: Sophomore
- Major: Biomedical Sciences
- Why I Became a WPE: I’m passionate about health and feel called to start sharing my ideas and experiences to help educate others about wellness here on campus.
- Programs I Am Excited About: The campus programming team is hoping to plan a Latin dance night this year. I think it would be awesome to integrate wellness into that and just have fun.
- Fun Fact: I did competitive gymnastics for ten years.
Evan Kafka
- Year: Sophomore
- Major: Psychology
- Why I Became a WPE: I am inspired by all aspects of wellness and live my life trying to be the best self I can be!
- Health Topic of Interest: Mindfulness
- Fun Fact: My favorite snack is dates and peanut butter.
Jackie Labonite
- Year: Sophomore
- Major: Biological Sciences
- Why I Became a WPE: I was a peer mentor in high school so I wanted to do something similar and expand on a larger campus. I also want to be able to make a difference on campus while pursuing topics that I am passionate about.
- Programs I Am Excited About: I am excited to start Red Watch Band Training and start programming for more alcohol and other drug prevention initiatives!
- Fun Fact: I love hiking and working out, and I am on Marquette’s club volleyball team!
Kaylee Murphy
- Year: Sophomore
- Major: Biomedical Sciences
- Why I became a WPE: I am extremely passionate about health and wellness, I love to help others, and I want to have a positive impact on Marquette’s campus!
- Health Topic of Interest: Yoga, nutrition
- Fun Fact: I love to cook!
Sydney Resler
- Year: Senior
- Major: Anthropology
- Why I Became a WPE: I am really passionate about health education/promotion and wanted to get more involved in the health of my peers!
- Health Topic of Interest: Sexual health, Bystander Intervention
- Fun Fact: My favorite food is sushi!
If you’re interested in having a program/presentation for your student organization, fill out our application here: http://www.marquette.edu/medical-clinic/phe.shtml
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And as always, stay well MU.
