How long have you worked at UC Davis?

I have been with UC Davis for 8.5 years.

What does Wellness mean to you?

To me, wellness means being active in the things that make you whole, things that bring you peace and happiness in all aspects of life; physical, mental and emotional.

Why did you become a wellness ambassador?

I was already on my own doing and setting up activities to promote health and wellbeing within my team. Mostly because I knew and felt little was being done in advocating for staff well-being. When I learned about the Wellness Ambassador program from another Wellness Ambassador, I knew this would be the positive change my team needed.

How long have you been a wellness ambassador?

I have been a wellness ambassador sine May of 2023.

What has been the most rewarding or positive part about your experience thus far?

The most rewarding part about my experience is hearing from teammates that they have really enjoyed and/or benefited from these efforts and that they feel supported and motivated. Some have been able to get back on track with healthy habits in a fun and encouraging way. 

What are some challenges you face as a wellness ambassador?

Some challenges I face as a wellness ambassador is that my team is spread out, which makes activities and events for the team challenging. Also having less options outside of regular work hours (nutrition courses, nature rx, etc) and/or recorded of later viewing has been difficult.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with new wellness ambassadors?

I would advise new wellness ambassadors to not be shy away from collaborating. Either with fellow wellness ambassadors or with your team. You might be surprised with who on your team may have ideas for wellness or are just waiting to be asked for their input.

Staff and Faculty Health and Well-being aims to build an environment that makes the healthier choice the easier one, while providing staff and faculty with the required support to make UC Davis the healthiest community. How do you feel you have contributed to our mission?

While I've just gotten started, I feel my impact has been really good so far. My team now knows of activities, events and programs that are available to them, which most of us didn't know of. The mini-grant has helped significantly and really boosted positive spirits in my team. We just started doing varying wellness challenges for prizes purchased with the mini grant.

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

I love to read and go fishing with my husband. I learned to love reading in my adult life. E-readers are LIFE, it's so easy to read when you have your book on your phone or tablet. Fishing is a pass-time I'm really new to, I had always wanted to learn but never got the chance to in my youth. So my husband bought me a fishing pole for my birthday a couple years ago to teach me and I instantly fell in love with it. The adrenaline of hooking a fish, bass fish is best, is just something else. It has become one our of favorite quality time activities, we love bass fishing because we're constantly moving, but hooking any fish is fun.