Rediscovering MC: Part 2 – Health & Wellness Through the SHaW Center

Nowadays, I get the chance to hang out more and more on the Rockville Campus, and around noon on March 2, I stumbled upon a food stand, where free food and snacks were being handed out to students. As a food lover, this got my attention. I saw the goods were being provided by the Student Health and Wellness Center for Success, also known as the the SHaW Center, which “identifies, provides, and connects students to resources that support success.”

I got to interview Carmen Poston-Travis, Director of Student Affairs, to find out more!

Q: What’s the whole idea behind this initiative? 

A: We are Student affairs, student health & wellness center, and we’re promoting health and wellness to our students, whether it’s physical wellness or mental health wellness. This is sleep awareness week, so today we had a table giving out the eye-bands, promoting sleep because it’s important to get enough sleep so you’ll be able to function right? And so, with the food, you gotta have enough nutrition, have enough energy to do the things that you need to do to be able to function in class, to be able to concentrate in class.

So what the Student Health and Wellness, a Fuel for Success Food campaign does is promote wellness related to nutrition and having enough food. So whether it’s a hardy lunch, a healthy lunch, or just something that’s sufficient for the student. So today we’re doing what we call “grab and go” lunch. 

These are items that students can get in between classes or during lunchtime, you know, just when they’re on the go running and need a little fuel (that was definitely me that day!) 

So you know, we do the Mobile Markets, we do lunch on the go, and smoothie Tuesday…making smoothies for students and helping them think about their health through nutritious ideas.

Q: And can you tell me how and when this initiative started? 

A: So we started about two years ago, but we did it in phases. About three years ago, we started out with mental health. The whole idea behind the Shaw Center is to promote health and wellness. So mental health, physical health, health and safety education and the food and nutrition. 

Q: What’s being offered in the grab & go back today? 

A: Today we had something hardy,we had protein, we had fruit, then we have fiber with the oatmeal, and then we had the veggie snacks. 

Q: How can students get in touch or get involved? 

A: So if you follow us on Instagram – @mcshawcenter – on Twitter – @centershaw – or on Snapchat – @mcshawcenter –  students will know where we are next time. And if a student wanted to get involved, they can contact me at carmen.poston@montgomerycollege.edu Or they can email the Shaw center: shawcenter@montgomerycollege.edu.

Q: Did you have an ending message for the students? 

A: Health and Wellness is important for your education. So if you don’t have the proper care of your mental and physical health, it’s really hard to be effective in your academics. Because you gotta be healthy in order to focus in class. And if you have some challenges from a mental standpoint or a physical standpoint, it will most likely have an impact on your academic success. So, we just ask students to get educated on the importance of their mental health and their physical health. Also make sure to stopped by all of our tables. It’s at no cost to students, so they should stop by and think about their wellness.