The PCCW is hosting tours around NDSU facilities to promote Well-being on Campus

The North Dakota State University Presidents Council for Campus Well-being, or the PCCW, is promoting walks to encourage healthy living and the growth of community on campus. This series of walks will not only benefit the well-being of NDSU, but will also be an opportunity to learn about NDSU.

The Walk to Well-being event put on by the PCCW works to provide information about campus as well as exercise throughout student’s, staff’s and the faculty’s day. “Walk to Well-being is focusing on how do we get active, but also to create a sense of community and to understand our campus a little bit better,” says Hegg. 

These walks will happen throughout the fall semester and hopefully become an annual event. Each walk will highlight a different area of campus, providing information about the building or area. Walks have included downtown and the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, otherwise known as the SHAC. 

The SHAC tour was led by Athletic Director Matt Larsen. Upcoming tour will feature Sugihara Hall and Campus tours led by the Admissions Office. 

These walks were new last year, although the weather did not cooperate making this the first official year that the Walk to Well-being will be completed successfully. 

Through these tours, people can “get to see the facility maybe in a different way that you wouldn’t have otherwise and then get some more steps in your day and hopefully connect with someone on that walk that you’ve never met before,” said Hegg. 

The PCCW is a group that works towards the wellbeing of students, faculty and staff at NDSU. They cover a variety of topics that range from physical health to personal development. The PCCW is split into nine workgroups that specialize in different aspects of wellbeing.  The group dives into policies, initiatives and other systems to ensure health at NDSU. 

The PCCW, “really has a broad reach, but the great thing is that we have members that are passionate about this work,” said Emily Hegg, the associate director for campus wellbeing in Student Health Service. 

One of these workgroups is focused around mental health on campus. Student Body Vice President Alex Duerr is a part of this workgroup. “The mental health subgroup of the PCCW looks at past, current, and future mental health issues on campus and brainstorms ways to address them in fun and educational ways to improve the mental health of students, faculty, and staff,” said Duerr. 

The mental health workgroup has previously worked to provide syllabus content for professors to include into their classrooms. This provides NDSU with resources that surround mental health and it also shares NDSU’s stance on caring for people with mental health struggles. According to the PCCW website, “NDSU cares about student well-being and does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, sexual misconduct, or intimate partner violence.” 

The mental health workgroup is the largest workgroup in the PCCW. They also have worked towards reducing stigma on NDSU’s campus surrounding mental health. The Mental Health First Aid Training is encouraged by the PCCW for anyone to take. 

This is a training that provides people with important information regarding Mental Health Awareness. It allows people to learn “how you can be a support person for someone who may come to you with some mental health concerns or questions,” said Hegg.

Well-being means something different to every person, Hegg explained. The PCCW looks at ways that they can gather around the topic of wellbeing on and individual level, but also the systems that are in place on NDSU’s campus.