To start off the the Year of Wellness at Moorpark College, six faculty members spoke about the importance of health on campus.
The Year of Wellness is a part of the year-long discussion that Moorpark College participates in each year. This year’s theme focuses on health and well-being, where each speaker spoke on the quality and state of being healthy, according to English Professor Brian Burns.
The lecture began with Burns, who hosted and moderated the hour-long lecture on Sept. 18, in E.A.T.M. 208, asking the audience what wellness meant to them.
“When we think of wellness by itself it’s a set of choices to improve our overall well[being],” said Burns.
The community is a key part to our everyday wellness, Burns said. Moorpark College is considered a composition, built up of physical spaces. The biggest part of the composition of the campus is the people contributing to the community.
“You can choose to contribute to the campus in a positive way, or in a negative way,” said Burns. “Or you can choose not to contribute, it’s all up to you.”
Philosophy Instructor Matthew Morgan led the second part of the lecture as he spoke about the Object Relationship Theory, with the example of college students using ‘transitional objects’ to help ease the stress of a difficult time, like adjusting to living on their own.
“Talking about college students, they typically are experiencing moving,” said Morgan. “Going to a new town, new home, new campus, there’s the example [of] moving transition.”
President Luis Sanchez then spoke about the importance of wellness, especially as a way for healing from the recession. He advised everyone to focus on their own well-being and to realize its importance.
“Part of it is continuously improving,” said Sanchez. “It is inherent and important of wellness. I believe in this idea everyday, I want to do better.”
The fourth part had staff members Scott Calvin and Eric Lopez speak about campus wellness.
Calvin spoke about Moorpark College being an environmental-friendly campus, and the first of the three community colleges in the district to go green.
“When we build new buildings, we try to incorporate as many green technologies we can,” said Calvin. “We try to make the climate as pleasant for students and for faculty.”
The last speaker of the wellness lecture was Health Center Coordinator Sharon Manakas, who focused on individual wellness.
Manakas emphasized that emotional health was the most important part of overall wellness.
“Emotional wellness will carry onto to self-care,” Manakas said. “To learn to do relaxation and stress reduction. It is to develop our inner strength.”
For everyday emotional wellness, it is about being thankful, grateful and mindful. It’s about challenging yourself to smile at others because smiling at another stranger improves personal wellness.
Manakas stressed that everyone is beautiful in their own way.
“Remember you are all uniquely and wonderfully made,” said Manakas. “Your path is your own.”
The last portion of the lecture included questions and comments from audience members.
One of the audience members, Jerry Aguilar, an 18-year-old graphic design major thought that the lecture was very informative.
“I learned a lot new stuff I didn’t know about before,” said Aguilar. “There’s always somebody helping you out at the campus, even if you don’t know it.”
The next event is on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 12 – 2 p.m., at the Black Box Theater.
