Students Exercise with Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

March 13, 2020

Before leaving for spring break, I attended a workout and lunch event with Northeast Ohio Medical University’s Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) held Friday, Feb. 28.

The class was led by second-year College of Medicine student Ashley Meyer and LMIG’s advisor, College of Medicine Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Anita Pokorny — both, certified fitness instructors.

They led a full-body, 30-minute workout at Sequoia Wellness, attended by many NEOMED students and Harmony Stanger, College of Medicine assistant director of student affairs.

It was great to see everyone working out together and supporting each other while having a good time.

As a student, it can be easy to get caught up in the stress of studying and forget to take care of ourselves, so having an event like this reminded us of the importance of self-care.

I am always working to motivate myself and encourage others to find time to be active — whether that be working out on your own, attending a group workout class, or throwing a Frisbee outside with friends. By blocking out time a few days a week — no matter how long or short — to exercise, it makes it much easier to maintain since it is already built into your schedule.

Taking time to be active is especially important to remember as we dive back into school work coming back from spring break. LMIG often has events like these and is a great organization to be a part of since it reminds us of the importance of balancing our school life with our time outside of studying.

— Carla Baaklini, a first-year College of Medicine student, contributed this reflection.