Wellness is a key part of life, especially during the college years. At IUPUI, there are several wellness initiatives rolled out each year, and they are led by a group of students who are dedicated to helping the campus population. More than likely, you've seen Peer Health Educators (PHEs) around campus promoting student well-being.
As student workers in Health and Wellness Promotion, PHEs strive to promote healthy lifestyle management by raising awareness and knowledge through outreach programs and role modeling. They create change by educating students on a variety of health topics, such as stress management, sexual health, diet and nutrition, physical activity and more.
Not only are PHEs educating the rest of IUPUI, but they are personally gaining skills that are going to help them achieve their job goals after graduating. As a fitness management and personal training major and health education and wellness coaching minor, Saskia Beam found that being a PHE is exactly the experience she needs to exceed in her future.
“This job is where I want to be,” Beam said. “This is perfect for me and it helps me in the sense that I do public speaking and I plan health education events. I learn how to effectively communicate with people about their health and how to reach out to resources. Having this job has been getting me out of my shell and teaching me interpersonal communication skills.”
Signature programs held by PHEs include Stress Busters Week, HIV testing, Condom Club and Healthy Relationships Week. With these events seeing large attendance numbers, students participating have been gaining important lifestyle tips while PHEs are building their career.
“We were brought on to spread the word about the programs and services we offer students but give them a different perspective,” Beam said. “We post on social media, make videos, host tabling events and plan our own events. There are a lot of developmental opportunities being a PHE. It is a really good resume builder.”
Being health-conscious is important, and every PHE has the same goal in mind: to make IUPUI a comfortable place for students to reach out to when they need help.
“We try to use PHEs as our forefront of education,” Health Promotion Specialist Ryan Anderson said. “Students teaching other students is going to help the message get across and it also increases comfortability. If we can [educate] in a fun and approachable way, then this is going to be more effective, and students can keep that information and use it long term.”
With seven total PHEs this semester, only three will be returning for fall 2021, and Health and Wellness Promotion is open to adding new students to the team. The opportunity to apply to become a PHE is always open, but the hiring period for fall will begin in April.
“There are only a couple of requirements,” Anderson said. “We have weekly meetings for brainstorming, personal development and we have guest speakers all the time. We have semesterly training retreats that are six hours on a Saturday. [PHEs] have to have a minimum of a 2.5 GPA, and they have to have a minimum of 12 credit hours completed.”
Students who are interested in being a part of the PHE program can send questions or apply by emailing hwpindy@iupui.edu.