What is PantherWELL?
PantherWELL is a peer health education program housed in the Office of Health Education & Promotion. Peer Health Educators (PHEs) are a select group of Pitt undergraduate students who have an interest in promoting health & wellness to fellow students. The PHEs do this through group presentations, tabling events and other outreach projects, and serve as liaisons between peers and Student Health Service staff.
What do the PantherWELL Peer Health Educators do?
The main purpose of PHEs is to serve as honest, open, and credible resources for their fellow Pitt students. You will see the PHEs giving presentations on health topics in the residence halls, the William Pitt Union, the Towers Lobby, for student organizations, and sometimes for academic classes. You will also see PHEs around campus setting up tables and other outreach programs on health topics that are important to college students. The PHEs are trained to be referral agents for their peers, so if you have a health-related problem or question, they can help you find the answer!
Who are the PantherWELL Peer Health Educators?
This year’s PHEs represent a variety of Pitt majors and student organizations. Below is information about the 2009-2010 PantherWELL PHEs!
Lauren Baines
Lauren is a junior majoring in psychology and philosophy. She hopes to attend graduate school for clinical psychology to pursue a career as a psychologist. This self proclaimed reality TV junkie enjoys Sudoku, shopping, sleeping, hanging out with friends, and sightseeing in her hometown of Philadelphia, PA. She also serves as the vice president to the best women’s group of all time, Campus Women’s Organization (CWO). Lauren is excited to be a PantherWELL peer health educator. She wants to encourage her fellow Pitt students to lead a healthy, safe lifestyle while enjoying the best times of their lives.
Allison Crowell
Allison is a junior neuroscience major from New London, PA. She plans to continue on to medical school in the hopes of becoming a doctor. When she isn’t studying in the Cathedral, Allison enjoys reading, playing in the snow, riding roller coasters, and listening to Queen. She is excited to begin work as a PantherWELL peer health educator because she hopes to expand her knowledge of the health fields and encourage her fellow peers to make a healthy lifestyle a priority during their hectic college years and into the future.
Sarah Geisler
Sarah was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and is completely in love with the city. In fact, she loves all things urban, which is why she is an Urban Studies and English Writing major. She plans to focus on community development and health, and then attend the graduate school of public health. One day, Sarah will run a non-profit that crusades for equality and aid for impoverished inner-city people. Sarah hopes that PantherWELL will help her train for her eventual career in public service. When not saving the world, Sarah can be found laughing, writing poetry, or drinking chocolate milk.
Kristina Greene
Kristina is a senior chemistry student with a minor in economics. She plans to further her education by attending medical school in order to help those less fortunate. Outside of school, Kristina enjoys volunteering with various organizations, working out, watching movies, and being with her family and friends. She is very excited to be a part of the PantherWELL team, meet new people, and to bring awareness to all Pitt students to make Pitt a healthier campus.
Kourtney Heichel
Kourtney is a senior Communication Science and Disorders major and plans pursue Pittsburgh’s Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy. She enjoys sports, shopping, traveling, working out, and laughing. She is from Lancaster, PA, but her favorite place in the world is on the beach in Ocean City, NJ. She is excited to be involved with PantherWELL again this year, and is looking forward to meeting new people while making Pitt a healthier campus!
Elisabeth Kimmel
Elisabeth Kimmel is a junior nursing student minoring in fitness. She is from Carlisle, Pennsylvania and is the middle of five kids. She enjoys being active and is an avid ping pong and racquetball player. Elisabeth is also a huge Pitt sports fan, especially basketball. Other various interests of hers include music, art, guitar hero, chick flicks, cookie dough ice cream, attending church at Northway Oakland and just hanging out with family and friends. After graduating, Elisabeth hopes to pursue a career in international medicine. This is her first year as a peer health educator and she is looking forward to the opportunity to help promote others to make healthy lifestyle decisions!
Courtney Martin
Courtney is a senior Psychology major from Harrisburg, PA. In the future she hopes to go to graduate school for Public Health. An interesting fact about her is that she was crowned Ms. Black University of Pittsburgh for 2008 by the Black Action Society. Courtney loves the arts, both visual and performing, and has even been an assistant dance teacher for toddler ballet classes. She is looking forward to returning to PantherWELL as an intern this semester because encouraging others to make healthy lifestyle choices is its own reward.
Kylie Morris
Kylie is a senior and starting her third year as a Peer Health Educator (PHE). She is also currently serving a term as a student representative for all of the PHE's in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey for The BACCHUS Network. She is a biology major and pre-med at Pitt. Her favorite shows are The Office, The Avatar, and House. She hopes one day to be a family physician and work in public health.
KayLoni Olson
KayLoni is a senior psychology student. She hopes to attend graduate school and eventually pursue a career in clinical psychology. She loves to play field hockey and also spend time with friends and family. KayLoni is a major Peter Pan enthusiast and loves to be in the sun. She feels as though the city of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh have already provided many opportunities to grow in new directions and she looks forward to continuing as a PantherWELL Peer Health Educator because it's been a totally wicked experience.
Paul Savelloni
Paul is a senior majoring in Health and Physical Activity with a concentration in Exercise Science. He is the Vice President of the Exercise Science Organization and is currently in the process of publishing his work on cancer research this past summer. Paul was born and raised in West Chester, Pa. After Pitt, Paul plans to attend Podiatry school in the fall of 2010, where he would like to specialize in Reconstructive Rear foot and Ankle Surgery. When he is not working or studying, Paul enjoys sports and hanging out with friends. Paul is extremely excited to join Panther WELL this year, and is looking forward to meeting new people and being a positive role model for his fellow peers.
Erica Schoch
Erica is a junior nursing student and plans to later become a nurse practitioner. She loves sports and plays for Pitt Women’s Rugby and also loves basketball, soccer and snowboarding. Erica lived and went to high school in Kobe, Japan where she realized her love for traveling. This past summer Erica worked as a nurse assistant in a hospital and is excited to become a PantherWELL peer health educator to have an active role in teaching others about health and wellness, because no matter who you are or where you are from, partaking in a healthy lifestyle is so important to living a great life.
Resources for Groups Requesting a PantherWELL Program
Programs presented by the PantherWELL peer health educators are informative, yet fun and interactive. These programs are designed to focus on health topics that affect college students in their academic and social lives. The information presented in the programs is factual and honest and presented by students who know what it means to be a college student in the 21st century!
Some programs are more appropriate for academic settings, such as in a classroom. Please make sure to read the descriptions fully before deciding which program suits your needs best. If you have any questions about a program, feel free to call the Office of Health Education & Promotion at 412-383-1830. For a list of programs and descriptions click here.
How to Request a Program
All programs conducted by the PantherWELL Peer Health Educators must be requested using a Program Request Form. Please note that this form must be submitted at least two weeks before the desired program date.
How can I become a Peer Health Educator?
We have completed our hiring process for the 2009-2010 academic year. Please check back in March 2010 for information on applying for the 2010-2011 academic year!