By LOGAN RIPLEY
Sports Editor
The first Wednesday of November marks the date for the Physical Education Conference. The conference, Nov. 2, will feature a total of 12 guest speakers spanning a time frame of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In its twenty-fourth installment since 1992, the conference emphasizes looking at the whole person according to organizer Ann Neilson. Neilson who has been at Saint Rose since the beginning of the conference finds this event critical for the health of students and faculty.
As the presenters have changed over the years Neilson has been there since the beginning, the one who created the event.
“Health is your wealth,” said Neilson coining an unofficial motto for the event.
There is mandatory attendance for physical education or lifetime fitness students. The attendance is pivotal to the final grade of students but should not be the reason to attend the free event.
The students need to find 12 facts about the presentation they watched and fill it out on a given sheet. This is again apart of not only remembering the event, but also to recognize changes that could be made.
“Encourage people to make the little changes,” said Neilson. An instrumental part of the event to look into future health, and how to keep it throughout your life.
Some 400 people will be attending the event throughout Nov. 2 including Saint Rose junior and lifetime fitness student Johnny Rotando.
“I’m looking forward to the stress management talk,” said Rotando. “With finals coming up soon I’m going to be under stress and pressure.”
Ideas presented by speaker Alyssa Fumarola can go a long way in combatting the looming stress put on by finals.
“I want to learn new stress reliever tactics,” said Rotando. “Some that I can apply to schoolwork.” Fumarola will be talking on this subject from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Another presenter is Ken Scott a Saint Rose employee who has been affiliated with the event for 16 years. Scott is apart of the community service office and will be talking about just that from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“My session is to educate students about the wellness benefits of volunteering in the community,” said Scott. “And inform them about how we help students do that.”
Scott also talked about the usefulness of the conference to the students and surrounding community.
“The conference is not only a great resource for students to learn more about forms of wellness they are interested in,” said Scott. “But it’s also a good bridge for those of us in the community to connect directly with students.”
The “Volunteering” session presented by Scott, like all the rest, will be located in the class room next to the swimming pool in the EAC building. Free to everyone, the event is beneficial to anyone who enters students or even presenters.
“I always look forward to the chance to stand before a large group of student conferees,” said Scott. “So I can share the stories of struggle and inspiration that we’ve encountered through service in the community.”
