Vote Heather for Health Promotions – Striving to Make Students Healthier and Happier!
I am a current fourth year student and will be returning to Stirling to undertake a Masters in Health Psychology. I would love to bring my knowledge and passion for student wellbeing to the role of Health Promotions Officer. Being a member of the sports union throughout my 4 years at university has been an important part of my time here. Therefore, if elected I would maximise other people’s student experience through promoting the benefits that a healthy lifestyle can have. I have been president of the netball club for the past year which has afforded me the opportunity to promote participation within my own sport. I am particularly interested in the benefits of physical activity and aim to promote wider student participation in a range of health behaviours.
Health encompasses a variety of areas linked the wellbeing of students, including physical, mental, social, and sexual health. University is a time when it is easy for students to adopt bad health habits but I believe that being more active can tackle these bad habits in all 4 domains. As Health Promotions Officer, I will aim to create opportunities for students to overcome the barriers to being healthy, such as lack of time, confidence and self-belief. This will help students engage in healthy behaviours which they can carry on throughout their lives.
My focus if elected is to encourage all students to get involved in some form of activity. Whether this is walking, running, cycling, or something more adventurous, I believe that there is something out there for everyone. In order to achieve this, I plan to build on the success of the Sports Union’s ‘5K a Day’ Campaign. It previously focused on participation by sports teams. So, my goal is to encourage participation from all by creating different sporting challenges, daily for one month. They will be set across different skill levels, and different activities to provide the opportunity for everyone to participate.
Health isn’t always something that is outwardly visible and stress is a major factor affecting the lives of students. I believe the ‘De-Stress Weeks’ which have run previously are vital in helping students deal with the pressures of university life. Being active provides an opportunity to be social as well as combat stress. This can have positive effects on mental health, so if elected I would like to build on their success to deliver De-Stress Week’ on a larger scale. I hope that by including even more activities that more students would be able to get involved. A large part of this is education based which will allow students to learn how to cope with stress during exams and deadlines. Providing students with both the knowledge and opportunity to better their own health will give them the tools to exceed both at university and in the future. I strive to better the student experience through showing students that being healthy can be fun and accessible to all.
