By Joe Curry, Staff Writer
Campus recreation and wellness is important to many of the students on campus at Gettysburg College. In fact, the department shared that 92% of students have been served by campus recreation and wellness in the last year. However, the scope of the department and its goals may be unknown to most students.
Head of Gettysburg College’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Department Annette Hunt-Shepherd wants to change that. There is a lot the department has to offer, and although it reaches a large part of the student body already, she wants to ensure that 100% of students can feel included.
“Every year I get an unduplicated headcount to see who we’re serving and who we’re not serving,” Hunt-Shepherd says. “While 92% is a huge number, a huge percentage of the student body, I’m looking at the other eight percent, where are we missing [them]?”
Head of Gettysburg College’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Department Annette Hunt-Shepherd (Photo Courtesy of Gettysburg Athletics)
Hunt-Shepherd has always been passionate about Recreation and Wellness. Most of her time at Gettysburg was spent as the head softball coach until her transition to her current position. Following her masters in Recreation Management, she ran an outdoor adventure center with activity programming for at-risk youth. Hunt-Shepherd remains passionate about the subject area, and considers herself a “champion of recreation and wellness.”
Most students are likely familiar with a few aspects covered under the Recreation and Wellness Department. Many can say that they have been to the gym or have been involved in intramural sports. However, these two examples are only a small portion of the program. With 96 student employees assisting, campus recreation and wellness also covers student fitness classes, wellness programming and club sports.
With an already broad reach across campus and a wide range of activities for students to enjoy, the department continues to expand. Next year, the rock wall found in the Jaeger Center will be under the control of the Recreation and Wellness department, which will be available for more students to enjoy. Thanks to the requests of students, the department also recently introduced men’s volleyball as a club sport and pickleball as an intramural sport.
Hunt-Shepherd encourages students to keep coming to her with ideas for more sports they would like to see officially made into club or intramural at the school. If there is something students feel is missing from campus recreation, they should not hesitate to express it.
“I would hope that students would find us as a place to relieve stress, that they find that there’s a program for everyone, and if they find there’s a program that we don’t have that would benefit students, that we find a way to maybe create that for them,” Hunt-Shepherd says.
While Recreation and Wellness is more focused on physical programming and the physical dimension of wellness, it is expressed that the programming is implemented to promote all aspects of well-being through physical wellness. The department partners with the Wellness Advisory Committee for Wellness Wednesdays and Fresh Fridays. Hunt-Shepherd hopes to convey that while campus recreation is always associated with physical wellness, the social and emotional connections students make through the use of their resources is an important aspect to providing well-being on campus.
Hunt-Shepherd explained, stating, “When you go to a student fitness class… while you are benefitting physically, that emotional release, that stress release, you’re going with your friends so there’s that social connection… Those social-emotional connections are what provide that physical benefit I think,” she explains.
Hunt-Shepherd did state that those connections are not to say that the department is not open to adding more programming for wellness, as well as physical activity.
“One thing we’re looking to get better at is somehow providing a way for other organizations to better utilize us,” Hunt-Shepherd shared. “How can we collaborate more effectively across campus with things that we do well, where we aren’t just re-creating [programs]?”
Students should feel encouraged to meet with Hunt-Shepherd and the department as they continue to expand.
“I know we’re doing well, but I think we can continue to improve,” Hunt-Shepherd said.
This article originally appeared on page 7 of the April 2024 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
