Health Education Office
Mission Statement
The Office of Health Education supports student academic success through identifying wellness trends, planning wellness events, and creating awareness campaigns to the RWU student population on a wide variety of health topics. We strive to equip all students to make intentional, positive lifestyle choices for themselves as well as empower them to use bystander intervention strategies to prevent harm to others.
The health education department has a peer education model for it's prevention programming. The Director of Student Health Promotion and Wellness Education and the peer education group, the Health and Wellness Educators (HAWEs) work together to provide education and support to Roger Williams University students in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We strive to motivate individuals to develop the physical, mental, social, intellectual and spiritual dimensions of self and make choices toward a more successful and healthier existence.
Health and Wellness Educators (H.A.W.E.s)
There are 8 stipend positions for students (plus 2 RA Internship positions) to work out of the Health Education Office. Students from all majors will find it a valuable experience that translates into many job skills.
Ten Things to Know
The Health Education Office:
- Serves the entire campus community
- Receive referrals for students experiencing alcohol and other drug use related problems
- Offers free alcohol and drug use assessments
- Provides individual health coaching sessions for a variety of health behaviors
- Collaborates with outside community partners and RWU groups on prevention initiatives
- Serves as a great resource for students
- Offers a range of programs including workshops/presentations to residence halls, campus clubs and organizations
- Provides smoking cessation consultations
- Distributes condoms free of charge
- Helps students with class projects, presentations and speeches on health topics.
Wellness Initiatives
The Office of Health Education is dedicated to promoting holistic wellness at RWU through event planning, campaign launches, and the introduction of the 10 dimensions of wellness framework to the campus. The Director of Student Health Promotion and Wellness Education and the Health and Wellness Educators (HAWEs) work together to plan wellness initiatives on campus that are educational, interactive, and engaging for students.
When planning new wellness events, the Health Education team is very intentional about assessing student health trends on campus to create initiatives that will benefit students the most. We focus on planning events around the 10 dimensions of wellness (emotional, physical, social, intellectual, occupational, financial, digital, environmental, spiritual, and creative), while also putting an emphasis on common college health topics, including alcohol & other drugs, mental health, physical health, social & digital wellness, and sex education & healthy relationships.
General Health Resources:
Resources for Nutrition:
Resources for Smoking Cessation:
Resources for Alcohol Cessation:
Resources for Drug Cessation:
The ACHA Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) Coalition has compiled a list of resources to assist colleagues who work with college students.
The coalition is committed to helping student health and student affairs professionals in their efforts to effectively address ATOD issues on their campuses.
Awards
| Year | Award Type | Program/ Recipient Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | (Northeast Region) Area 10 Program of the Year | Alcohol Incidence Referral |
| 1996 | General Assembly National Outstanding Creativity in Prevention Education | Happy 21 BD |
| 1997 | General Assembly National Outstanding Creativity in Prevention Education | Passed Out |
| 1997 | (Northeast Region) Outstanding Program | Passed Out |
| 1998 | General Assembly National Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 1999 | General Assembly National Outstanding Network Affiliate | RWU Health Advocates |
| 2000 | (Northeast Region) Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2007 | General Assembly National Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2007-2008 | Outstanding AOD Professional (Finalist) Outside the Classroom | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2009 | (Northeast Region) Area 10 Outstanding Peer Educator | Renee Belotti |
| 2009 | General Assembly National Outstanding Network Affiliate | RWU Health and Wellness Educators |
| 2010 | (Northeast Region) Area 10 Outstanding Peer Educator | Hannah Freedman |
| 2012 | General Assembly National Outstanding Research and Evaluation | RWU Health and Wellness Educators |
| 2013 | (Northeast Region) Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2013 | (Northeast Region) Area 10 Outstanding Program | Rootbeer: The Only Beer You Should Be Serving |
| 2013 | General Assembly National Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2014 | Student Affairs Unsung Hero Award | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2014 | Peter Broomhead award for supporting athletics | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2014 | Bacchus General Assembly National Outstanding Program Award | FYE-This Is HAWE Do It! |
| 2015 | (Northeast Region) Award for Best Program | Consent Poster Campaign |
| 2016 | Bacchus General Assembly Outstanding Peer Educator Group | RWU Health and Wellness Educators |
| 2017 | Bacchus General Assembly Outstanding Program | Message on a Bottle |
| 2018 | (Northeast Region 1) Outstanding Program | Message on a Bottle |
| 2018 | (Northeast Region 1) Outstanding Advisor | Donna Lynn Darmody |
| 2018 | (Northeast Region 1) Outstanding Peer Educator | Diana Perez |
| 2018 | RWU Student Achievement Award for Title IX Recognition | Mary Dinnean & Kayla Devin |
| 2019 | Student Life Program of the Year Staff Award for Student Engagement & Learning | Peer Body Project |
| 2019 | Peggy Deston Award | Donna Darmody |
Opportunities for Collaboration
If you are interested in programming with the Health and Wellness Educators, please contact the HAWE Team directly via email at 10hawes@gmail.com.
Social Media
Professional Memberships
The Director of Health Education is a member of the American College Health Association (ACHA). Since 1920, the ACHA has served as the voice for student health and wellness. Through advocacy, research and education, ACHA stands at the forefront of issues that impact the health and wellness of college students. ACHA represents over 1,100 institutions of higher education, representing the collective health and wellness needs of 10 million college students. ACHA serves nearly 3,000 individual college health and wellness professionals and leaders of all disciplines united together to advance the health and wellness of college students. Membership in ACHA is key to unlocking tremendous vision and knowledge that can enrich campus health and wellness services, professional development, and efforts toward creating a culture of wellness on campus.
The Health and Wellness Educators are actively involved with the BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA. The BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA supports collegiate peer educators and advisors by empowering students and student affairs administrators to create campus environments which are healthy and safe.
Achievements
Through attending conferences the Health and Wellness Educators have been nationally recognized and awarded for their efforts as a peer health education group.
The RWU Health Education Program is a peer based education model. 10 Health and Wellness Educators are chosen to design and deliver health promotion to the entire campus community. The BACCHUS Peer EducationNetworkTM is a part of NASPA and is a university based, campus and community-wide leadership on health and safe lifestyle decisions concerning alcohol abuse, tobacco use, illegal drug use, unhealthy sexual practices and other high-risk behaviors.