March Wellness Ambassador of the Month | Steph Spada
Quick Summary
- Wellness to me is looking at what our goals are in life and tinkering along the path so that we may achieve these goals in good comprehensive health: body and mind and community. Wellness is personal, but social, and can be utilized or affected at home or
How long have you worked at UC Davis?
I have worked at UC Davis for 5 years.
What does Wellness mean to you?
Wellness to me is looking at what our goals are in life and tinkering along the path so that we may achieve these goals in good comprehensive health: body and mind and community. Wellness is personal, but social, and can be utilized or affected at home or work or events.
Why did you become a wellness ambassador?
I was interested in experiencing what the UC Davis wellness program meant, and happy to spend more time with my wellness ambassador colleagues: Colleen and Daiana! They're fantastic and do most of the heavy lifting.
How long have you been a wellness ambassador?
I have been a wellness ambassador for one year.
What has been the most rewarding or positive part about your experience thus far?
That in addition to seeing how things operate behind the curtain, I still get to learn more about wellness from our planned activities and invited speakers. But the most rewarding aspect is hearing the laughter and conversations from our planned wellness outings.
What are some challenges you face as a wellness ambassador?
The one size fits all mentality is so glaringly apparent in wellness. Making sure we accommodate as many people's needs, wants, and schedules requires time and consideration and many course-corrections. But the alternative is a handful of friends who feel left out. So, if the mission of wellness is to gently strengthen skills, then we can put in this effort.
What is one piece of advice you would like to share with new wellness ambassadors?
Communication, creativity, and not overdoing it are real winners to me. Don't worry about over-engineering an event as long as you've got the basics: a time and location that works, enough people for a fun social gathering, all centered around an obvious topic. Scale up as appropriate.
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?
My contributions feel small right now, but as I understand more of how the process works and get a better finger on the pulse of what's needed and wanted with my work mates, then I expect my contributions to grow. But I hope my contributions in communication and transparency and as an event wrangler for any loose ends was helpful!
What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Enjoy an immersive book with a hot beverage, then tell the people in my life all about this book I'm reading :)