Students, faculty and staff gathered on the Mount Carmel Campus quad and the Recreation and Wellness Center to enjoy a variety of engaging activities and informative conversations designed to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“It allows the student to learn different health and wellness tips,” said Kerry Patton, associate dean of student affairs for health and wellness. “From nutrition to mental health and physical health, the event focuses on the different dimensions of wellness. This year, our focus is on self-care as it’s really important for students to be able to take care of themselves to meet their personal and academic goals.”

By attending the fair, students had the opportunity to enjoy a variety of experiences and activities, including animal therapy.

Donna Latella, professor of occupational therapy, shared her love and passion for Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), allowing students to interact with therapy horses and dogs. Assisted by her graduate capstone students, Latella brought Wyatt, a Newfoundland Poodle, Gelato, an Italian Spinone, two miniature horses, Moka and Mabel and a full-sized horse named Steady-Eddy.

Each of these animals experiences comprehensive training and testing before providing animal assisted services and socializing with students.

“For college students, it helps those who have animals at home and miss them,” said Latella. “There are studies that show it decreases blood pressure, stress levels and anxiety.”

Emilie Simoni ’24, MOT ’26 shared how her experience working with the therapy animals has furthered her career skills and aspirations in occupational therapy.

“The human-animal bond is a really special bond that can help alleviate a lot of stress and help you calm your body,” said Simoni. “You think of the care that you put into an animal sometimes and it reminds you of the care you should be putting into yourself.”  This is also a great outlet to help individuals manage their stress and also individuals with disabilities who have difficulty creating bonds with other people in the community, it’s a lot easier sometimes to create a bond with an animal.”

Yale Police Officer Rich Simons brought his beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Heidi, to provide comfort, support and wellness.

“Our job truly is to come here to create smiles and job,” said Simons. “Just to feel like students are at home with their dogs or if they’re having a tough day, they can have Heidi sit in their lap.”

Lexi Pepe ’24, marketing manager for Chartwells higher education dining services, spoke to students about the importance of nutrition and mindful eating habits to support student well-being. Her station included complimentary pop tarts and beverage cups with a joyful, inspirational message as well as food trivia, allergen information and food waste sustainability recipe cards.

“The health fair is a great resource for students to learn how food impacts their diet and overall well-being,” said Pepe. “Our job is to equip them with applicable tools for integrating living habits into their everyday lives.”

For students like Haleigh Newton ’25, the health fair was a valuable and engaging experience in strengthening her current wellness strategies.

“I learned how to implement these practices into my daily health regimens,” said Newton. “It was a very fun way to get information, learn, and know what is available on campus. It was a 10/10 experience.”

As students gear up for finals and commencement, the Spring Health Fair served as a meaningful reminder for students to prioritize own self-care and embrace strategies to finish the semester strong.  

In Focus