RIT Prepares Students for a Lifetime of Wellness and Work

Certificate of Excellence program promotes a lifestyle of activity and well-being

Healthy students make active and enthusiastic employees of the future.

That’s the idea behind the Center for Human Performance’s new student Certificate of Excellence in Human Performance program at Rochester Institute of Technology.

The program focuses on motivating and guiding students to embrace a lifestyle of physical activity and overall well-being, says Dugan Davies, RIT’s associate director of wellness.

In order to earn the certificate, full-time students, enrolled in the 2001-2002 academic year and later, must complete their First Year Enrichment or Wellness for Life core in addition to four different wellness activity courses—two more than RIT requires for graduation.

Students accepted into the program are assigned an individual wellness coach. A complementary five-year alumni membership to the Student Life Center, a season’s pass to men’s ice-hockey home games, and recognition in SLC showcases and awards ceremonies are among the incentives for completing the certificate requirements.

With obesity surpassing smoking as the nation’s public-health No. 1 enemy and the continual increase in healthcare costs, it’s in everyone’s best interests to stay well through a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise, Davies says.

"RIT prepares students for the workforce of tomorrow. This is one more way we can give our students an edge in the quest for employment and also prepare them for a lifetime of healthy wellness practices," she adds.

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