African American Cultural Center Celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a Theme in Wellness

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the African American Cultural Center (AACC) at NC State.  The AACC community strives to promote awareness and appreciation for experiences of the African American and other African descents.  This year’s theme “Examining Wellness in African American Spaces: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” takes a new route to achieve this mission.

Shannon DuPree, University Wellness Specialist has collaborated with the AACC for the upcoming event series, Wellness Walks and Talks.  Beginning Monday, October 17, this partnership will host a 6-week long program in which members of the university community can come together to “enjoy a discussion about health and wellness”.

Participants will meet in Witherspoon 356 on Mondays at noon for a discussion on one of the six elements of health recognized by NC State.  Each week will be dedicated to covering one of those elements, which include: physical, emotional, social, community, career, and finance. 

Week one, “Wolfpack Wellness and You” will focus on defining wellness and what it means to each individual.  From there, expert speakers will be brought in from their various departments on campus to engage in wellness presentations and open discussions.  Speakers will include representatives from University Recreation, Student Health Services, Counseling Center, Career Development Center, and the AACC.

DuPree believes this program will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the specific interests of the NC State community. “What we hope to pull from this is to identify the needs of our faculty, staff, and students…so that we can build upon [those needs] in the spring and develop new wellness programs to address them”.

In addition to wellness-based discussions, each meeting will employ putting those methods into practice as members improve their physical well-being by walking at Harris Field.  By incorporating the assorted elements of health, DuPree hopes to impress upon participants that the importance of overall well-being cannot be overstated.  “Wellness encompasses every aspect of your life and requires work, determination and commitment to bring about change”.

DuPree also emphasizes the fact that student success is directly linked to the wellness of NC State employees. “The promotion of faculty and staff members’ wellness helps them to become positive role models for students and increases their commitment to promoting the wellness of our students.  Our goal is to build a thriving pack.  We don’t want people to just survive, we want people to be thriving and be their best selves”.