The Recreation and Wellness Center, commonly known as "the Rec," provides many services for Auburn students, faculty and staff in both mental and physical health interventions. The facility holds group fitness classes, organizes intramural and club sport leagues, hosts Olympic and powerlifting competitions, arranges outdoor adventure experiences, offers one-on-one personal training and conducts other events throughout the year to get the student body involved.
Although much of the Rec’s amenities and benefits are utilized, some programs are not as well-known – in particular, resources dedicated to assisting people in areas of individual wellness. Mental and physical health issues are not uncommon among young adults and students, but they should know that they are not alone. In fact, they have an entire community waiting to support them in a time of need.
Karen Wright, the assistant director of wellness services at the Rec, spoke on the importance of students prioritizing their fitness and mental well-being in college. According to Wright, a student's physical and psychological stability is the foundation of every choice and every achieved goal, which is why students should prioritize it.
“The opportunity for growth while at Auburn is quite large," Wright said. "Finding the balance of wellness and academics and who you want to become starts with your health.”
The Rec offers five main programs in education, healthy relationships, nutritional services, substance use and overall wellness coaching. These sources of knowledge and support are available in individual settings, such as personal meetings with a professional counselor, or in group settings, such as attending alcohol and drug prevention seminars.
For education specifically, the Rec has two primary programs: "Be the Difference" and "Catharsis." The first is a bystander intervention campaign that informs, empowers and influences students to make the proper choices when faced with decisions in potentially dangerous situations, and the latter is a set of online educational modules that empower and encourage a welcoming environment to all students, faculty and staff.
To promote healthy relationships, the Rec also offers a wide range of resources to educate students primarily about traits of healthy partnerships, contraceptives, STIs, HIV testing and sexual health and wellness in general. Students can find that information on the Rec website, can call the Rec’s main desk or make an in-person appointment.
The Rec provides various nutritional programs and services to instruct and support students with dietary questions and issues. The full time dietician or part time registered dietician on staff can assist students in accomplishing smaller tasks such as grocery shopping more efficiently or navigating food intolerances, or go as far as to develop an individualized meal plan.
Nutrition intake sessions, counseling, and individual appointments are available to formulate personalized techniques and ways to incorporate healthy lifestyle choices – in particular for students with eating disorders – or gain basic knowledge on nutrition, disease prevention, women’s health issues and more. The Rec’s Nutritional Services also works closely with personnel from Auburn’s Medical Clinic and Student Counseling & Psychological Services to form holistic “eating concern treatment teams” for the betterment of students struggling in this area.
For substance-use resources, students are given a variety of options to gather information, address their own alcohol or drug abuse issues and establish a plan to reach their goals in regards to substance use. The Rec provides in-person group presentations, mostly to residence halls, fraternities and sororities and student organizations. To do this, programs such as The Tiger Education Screening Intervention and the Tobacco Intervention Education (TIE) reduce the risk of students associating with alcohol and substance use at Auburn, while giving them the tools to identify and properly handle themselves in alcohol and drug-related emergencies.
The Rec also has a dedicated Substance Use Intervention Team (SUIT) to support accountable individuals with problematic alcohol substance use, helping them to set and reach their substance use goals. Along with acquainting students with outside recovery programs, the Rec has a peer-lead Auburn Recovery Community (ARC) composed of recovering individuals who are determined to maintain sobriety, accomplish their academic goals and make meaningful friendships.
Outside of personal trainers who focus solely on physical fitness, the Rec has Wellness Coaching: a personalized program that assists students in navigating their own wellness journey, through one-on-one sessions and consistent collaborations with certified coaches to determine their unique challenges and goals. Support or guidance is given in areas of sleep health, exercise and workouts, time management skills, nutrition, social connections and more. This program has a peer-coaching-peer model, which allows students to coach students.
Laure Butcher is the Rec’s assistant director who oversees the personal training, Olympic powerlifting and nutrition and wellness coaching programs. Butcher explained that this approach is intentional, as these mentors can personally connect with their mentee’s experience, having already been or are presently going through it themselves.
“We believe that students coaching students have a better understanding of each other. They know what the daily life is, or what the school grind is, or the challenges that they might have or just the general school experience," Butcher said. "So we feel that this is a much more effective approach.”
The Rec also promotes outreach programs and challenges for students looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle, such as the Be Well Hut and Auburn Strong. For more information, visit the Auburn University Recreation and Wellness website, under the wellness module.
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