Learning Community Wellness Challenge participants log 1,841 miles in 19 days
The UND SMHS Learning Communities Higher Council was created last year with the intention of providing an additional avenue for students from different health professions to work together to build community within UND SMHS and give back to the surrounding community. Each learning community has two representatives (16 students), and each region (two LCs) has a leader (four total students).
Students from the council noticed last semester that with the change to online education, they and their classmates were less active than they used to be. Two regions (ten students representing Medicine, OT, and PT) came together in November to help address this inactivity and provide a little incentive to get people moving before the holidays and during final exams.
From Nov. 30 – Dec. 18, all students and staff were invited to participate in the “2020 Mileage Challenge” — and very many did! All movement counted as mileage for the challenge and teams had a wide range of activities as they competed against other teams to earn the most mileage. Participants logged their activity online using a Qualtrics survey and the Strava app.
In the end, students and staff logged more than 1,841 total miles in 19 days and counted 134 participants!
The winning LC team was Chokecherry/Lady Beetle with 768.10 miles. For their win, the team received a hand-crafted trophy that is proudly displayed in their LC and a donation to a local non-profit. They chose to donate to Northlands Rescue Mission, a nonprofit emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
Mileage totals per LC were:
- Chokecherry/Lady Beetle – 768.10 miles
- Nokota Horse/Wild Prairie Rose – 718.28 miles
- Elm/Northern Pike – 183.69 miles
- Wheatgrass/Meadowlark – 171.52 miles
Gift cards were given to the three individuals with the highest mileage:
- Allison Cwikla – 130.58 miles
- Emily Hao – 126.28 miles
- Mitch Gullickson – 120.58 miles
This event was completely virtual, including all of the planning — a big accomplishment especially given COVID precautions. Not only did participants improve camaraderie within the School, but they built upon each other’s strengths and promoted a fun event.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone involved in event planning and management, especially Badlands Region LC representatives Chelsea Edwards, Katie Christopherson, Jess Zola, Allison McGauvran, and Kalli Fautsch (Region Leader); and Turtle Mountains Region LC representatives Kaitlin Feist, Rachel Morin, Karyssa Hovelson, Lauren Marshall, and Nash Binegar (Region Leader).
