MTSU hosts fun-filled ‘de-stressing’ event to prep students for final exams

Final exams are just weeks away for MTSU students and a host of organizations have banded together to help relieve the pressure.

The Raider Health Corps along with MTSU Health Promotion, Campus Recreation, the Nutrition and Dietetic Association and the Center for Accelerated Learning Acquisition partnered together to put on De-stress Fest.

Matt Formisano, left, community outreach coordinator for Healthworks Chiropractic, explains spinal functions to a student during the De-stress Fest held Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the MTSU Campus Recreation Center. (MTSU photo)

Usually held every semester, De-stress Fest is designed to help students unwind and get prepared mentally and physically for final exams. The event began Monday, Nov. 14, as students were invited to participate in a free yoga class at the Rec Center.

Festivities continued Wednesday, Nov. 16, as students participated in a variety of games and events at the Rec, including massages, receiving healthy snack samples, guided meditation sessions and fitness assessments among other things.

All services were free for students and this year De-stress Fest was able to partner with Healthworks Chiropractic to bring an official chiropractor in for students. According to health educator Vinny Black, this new partnership is one of the most valuable aspects of the event.

“We were able to reach outside of campus and bring in the chiropractic folks, which is good since it’s a brand new partnership. It’s big, because we wanted to get the community involved as well with the campus groups,” he said.

From left, MTSU students Josh McCray, Krista Brown, and Matty Frutiger discuss proper eating habits at the De-stress Fest held Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the MTSU Campus Recreation Center. (MTSU photo)

Black said De-stress Fest receives normally 100 to 150 students each semester and he hopes that each year the event will continue to grow and get more campus and community groups to contribute and participate.

The final event will take place on Nov. 30 when Black and other members from the Raider Health Corps will pass out de-stress kits in the James E. Walker Library atrium.

“While students are working hard studying and knocking out papers, we’ll be passing out kits that’ll have some free tea bags, paprika, and coloring sheets for people that want to de-stress that way,” Black said. “We want to help students before the exams and try again while they’re in midst of them.”

For more information of De-stress Fest, contact the Raider Health Corps at 615-494-8704 or visit their website http://www.mtsu.edu/healthpro/peer-health.php.

— Steven Michael Johnson (news@mtsu.edu)

From left, MTSU students Joey Rosen, Lawrence Gant and Randon Allen work one of the snack booths at the De-stress Fest held Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the MTSU Campus Recreation Center. (MTSU photo)