{"id":398,"date":"2014-11-25T20:51:47","date_gmt":"2014-11-25T20:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/currents.winonastateu.com\/?p=398"},"modified":"2014-11-25T20:51:47","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T20:51:47","slug":"synergistic-blend-of-fitness-and-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/2014\/11\/25\/synergistic-blend-of-fitness-and-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Synergistic Blend of Fitness and Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Irene<\/a>

Irene Krackow, Kayla Sandvik \u201815, Richard Nett<\/p><\/div>\n

Winona Friendship Center and WSU<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Margaret Cox<\/p>\n

If you ever wondered about the impact that WSU students make, just stop by the Winona Friendship Center and tour the Active Wellness area. You\u2019ll see senior participants improving their strength and flexibility on state-of-the-art equipment, while students carefully monitor and guide them. Best of all, you\u2019ll hear celebratory laughter as they meet shared goals. The synergy between both groups creates a blend of fitness and education that benefits everyone.<\/p>\n

More than a decade ago, Winona Friendship Center Director Malia Fox and WSU\u2019s Dr. Phillip Appicelli set out to create a program for seniors that focused on exercise and healthy living, staffed by students from various disciplines. Today, the Active Wellness program is the most sought-after part of the Winona Friendship Center, with 180 paid members. WSU students are responsible for creating and modifying programs for Center participants, and monitoring their progress. Often, great friendships are formed. While senior participants benefit from safe, monitored exercise, students benefit from the hands-on experience gained while working with this vibrant population. \u201cSome of the senior participants are WSU alumni, and they ask about classes and professors,\u201d says Dr. Erin White, who supervises the students. \u201cThey also question students when a program is modified… they want to know why! It\u2019s this direct interaction that is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa Lee, Director of the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation program at WSU, couldn\u2019t agree more. \u201cSometimes, senior participants come to WSU\u2019s Integrated Wellness Complex to exercise while being monitored by our Cardio Rehab students,\u201d Lee explains. \u201cWhat they learn from each other is amazing. The students are very well prepared when they leave Winona State.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a way to thank the students, Winona Friendship Center members established a scholarship in their honor. Each year, an eligible student is awarded $500 to help defray the cost of books. \u201cThe students perform services crucial to the continuing success of an area that is vital to this community,\u201d says Marian Hopkins, a long-time member of the Active Wellness program. \u201cIn return, they gain skills and knowledge about a demographic they may not otherwise encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mutual benefits of this partnership continue to blossom. In 2013, Exercise Science students conducted research to identify senior-friendly exercise equipment. The students presented their findings to the Winona City Council, recommending a $35,000 upgrade in equipment for the Active Wellness program \u2013 the same cost to taxpayers as the treatment of one preventable hip fracture through Medicare. The City Council approved, and seven new pieces of equipment were added shortly thereafter. \u201cThe program wouldn\u2019t work without WSU students,\u201d says Fox. \u201cThey help older adults in Winona function at their best!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winona Friendship Center and WSU By Margaret Cox If you ever wondered about the impact that WSU students make, just stop by the Winona Friendship Center and tour the Active Wellness area. You\u2019ll see senior participants improving their strength and flexibility on state-of-the-art equipment, while students carefully monitor and guide them. Best of all, you\u2019ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[145,146,147],"class_list":["post-398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wsu-magazine","tag-dr-phillip-appicelli","tag-malia-fox","tag-winona-friendship-center"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/11\/Currents_Winona_Friendship.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQMT-6q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}