By Alora Garofallou
Contributing Writer
A health and wellness fair was held in the Nolan gymnasium at The College of Saint Rose Thursday. The fair has been held annually for more than 20 years, and is sponsored by the Saint Rose department of physical education. It is free and open to the public.
The main goal of the event is to expand student, faculty and the public’s minds about the importance of all aspects of health.
Ann Neilson, the coordinator for the event and a physical education professor at Saint Rose, spoke about the benefits of the fair.
“Your health is your wealth. The seven dimensions are very important: spiritual, physical, emotional, career, intellectual, altruism, and loving relationship,” Neilson said.
Many students are not thrilled to attend the event, but after they do they are grateful for the opportunity to learn the deeper significance and importance of health. Many come up to Neilson regarding a realization they made about some aspect of health and say to her, “I never realized that.” That is a shining moment for her as an educator of health and fitness.
The event originally began with only 15 to 20 exhibitors, but this year there were more than 40 for students to interact with.
The fair is promoted through Ben Marvin, the college’s director of advertising, as well as through the physical education classes offered at the College. Exhibitors provide raffles, free samples, services and free information. Each vendor has either props or representatives to speak to in person.
Walking around the gymnasium, there was a buzz as guests eagerly observed each vendor, table to table, learning as much as they could. Among the over 40 exhibitors were Donate Life New York State, Honest Weight Food Co-Op, the College of Saint Rose Counseling Center, and the Occupational and Environmental Health Center of Eastern New York.
One exhibitor was Dotera Essential Oils; this company focuses on holistic health derived from the immune systems of plants. It is chemical free health care for medicine, hair care, cosmetics, cleaning supplies etc. This was their first time at the wellness fair.
“Dotera Essential Oils have changed our lives by replacing harmful chemicals with holistic alternatives, and we are excited to share these options with people, especially students,” said Heather Megyesi, a senior at Saint Rose and a representative for the company
Student volunteers also ran numerous exhibits. Freshman Meghan Todd volunteered to run the Laughter Therapy table for her clowning class.
“Laughter is the best free medicine!” Todd said.
