Massey was joined by recreation directors, hailing from St. Edward’s University, MIT, the College of New Jersey, Stanford University, and Wellesley College, in a discussion focused on the impacts of integrated recreation and wellness programs on holistic student wellbeing. The speakers offered their takes on “wellness” and explored how their institutions are implementing strategies to enhance their recreational programs.

“Wellness is all about finding, appreciating, and celebrating the term ‘happiness’ in a variety of different dimensions of well-being,” said Andy Lemons, St. Edward’s University’s Recreation Director. “We cannot isolate our tradition physical experiences at the expense of social, emotional, vocational, environmental, spiritual, financial, and intellectual wellness. In fact, we should be the champions for wellness and wellbeing on our respective campuses, as we are uniquely positioned in the student experience to serve as leaders in this effort.”

“Cross campus partnerships have been integral to our wellness programming and student engagement,” added Monica Verity, Wellesley College’s Director of Recreation. “Our Wellness Outreach Collaborative connects many departments across campus to provide financial and administrative resources that have enabled us to expand our programming and participation each year.”

We sincerely thank the following recreation professionals for joining us in this lively discussion!

• Andrew Lemons, RCRSP; Director of Recreation & Wellness, St. Edward’s University
• Tim Mertz; Director of Recreational Sports, MIT
• Robert Simels, RCRSP; Director of Recreation, The College of New Jersey
• Eric Stein, CRSS; Senior Associate Athletics Director, Recreation & Wellness, Stanford University
• Monica Verity; Director of Recreation, PERA Assistant Professor of the Practice, Wellesley College