MC celebrates Exercise is Medicine® On Campus Month
Oct. 13, 2021
Maryville College is celebrating Exercise is Medicine® On Campus (EIM-OC) Month throughout October.
A kick-off rally, consisting of recess lawn games, music, dancing, proclamations, announcements and a frozen T-shirt race, was held Oct. 13 to celebrate EIM-OC Month and promote health and wellness on the MC campus.
This initiative, promoted by the American College of Sports Medicine, “encourages faculty, staff and students to work together to improve the health and well-being of the campus community by making movement a part of the daily campus culture, assessing physical activity at every student health visit, providing students with the tools necessary to strengthen healthy physical activity habits that can last a lifetime, and connecting university health care providers with university health fitness specialists to provide a referral system for exercise prescription,” according to the organization’s website.
October is recognized nationwide as EIM-OC Month among registered colleges and universities. Maryville College was first recognized as an EIM-OC school in 2017. Today, it is one of more than 280 institutions of higher education in the world – and one of only five institutions of higher education (and one of only two private colleges) in Tennessee – to carry the distinction.
During the rally, which was attended by approximately 100 students, faculty and staff members, an announcement was made about the College’s gold-level status within the EIM-OC program. The College also received gold-level recognition in the program in 2018. Maryville College is one of only 73 colleges and universities to achieve gold-level status, said Dr. Jeremy Steeves, associate professor of exercise science at Maryville College.
“We’re encouraging the campus community to be physically active; even if it’s not exercise, everyone hopefully can find some form of physical activity that they enjoy doing and promotes their health,” Steeves said. “That’s the message of Exercise is Medicine in a nutshell – go out and find what your passion is, be active, and that’s going to have ramifications later in life, if you engage in physical activity early on and throughout your life.”
Steeves said that Maryville College is perfectly situated to promote Exercise is Medicine®, due to the College’s ideal location in East Tennessee and the numerous opportunities provided on campus.
“Maryville College is in a great location because it’s so close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Steeves said. “Many of our students are athletes, and they’re getting exercise as part of their practice; many of our students are non-athletes, and we’re in a location where they can take advantage of opportunities that other schools just down the road don’t have access to. Even on campus, I would say we have one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. Half of our campus is the Maryville College Woods – even if you don’t have a car, you can get out and go for a walk on the trails and feel like you’re in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, two minutes away from your residence hall. We live in a pretty special place in the country and this world, so get out and enjoy it – anything outside of the four walls that you’re in for your class or your room is going to be more physically active than you would be usually inside those walls.”
In addition to Steeves, other speakers during the Oct. 13 kick-off event included Maryville College President Dr. Bryan Coker, who read a presidential proclamation; Claudia Werner, director of counseling at MC; Tyson Murphy ’03, program manager for Mountain Challenge and head men’s and women’s cross country coach; and Raul Placeres ’06, head men’s basketball coach at MC.
Other activities scheduled throughout the month include outdoor recess sessions for students, weekly yoga classes, weekly Camp 4 outdoor recreation sessions at Mountain Challenge, and a photo contest.
On Nov. 6, the College will host the “Maryville College Exercise is Medicine on Campus 5th Annual Pumpkin Run 5K” on campus. The race and fun run will start at 9 a.m. at Crawford House on campus (713 Howee Avenue). The 5K course meanders through the Maryville College Woods and partially on the cross-country course. The stroller-friendly 2-mile course consists of two laps to the House in the Woods and back. Registration is $10 for ages 5-17 and $25 for participants 18 and older (please note that prices increase after Oct. 22). For more information or to register, visit the event website.
