Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The Rec Center has been popular amongst students and faculty alike due in part to the multiple gyms and exercise classes offered.
“They’ve done really well,” junior accounting major from Arlington Tino Angadicheril said, “They have changed some things like putting in lock systems for keys and wallets. It’s just an overall good place.”
Keys and locks aren’t the only changes the Rec has enacted within its first year. They also have a new executive director, Joel Swedlund. Swedlund has been a part of the Rec Center since the idea was conceived and was originally the director of Facility Operations. The former executive director, Brain Devost, decided that it wasn’t the best fit for him because he came from the corporate world, a very different atmosphere from university life.
Though sad Devost is no longer here, Dr. Kerri Hart, associate director of the SWRC, is very happy that Swedlund is in this position.
“He brings a very hands-on, student-friendly atmosphere. It’s going to be great.” Hart said.
Swedlund is excited about this year and the new opportunities the Rec Center is offering students. One major add-on is the My Wellness Cloud app. There is an icon of each piece of equipment, and students can download the My Wellness app to their smartphone. Students can track their workouts and set goals for themselves on the app.
In addition, the Wellness Key is now being released to the entire student population. The Wellness Key is a device that students can purchase for $50. It comes with a fitness assessment from a personal trainer, two personalized workouts and a workout personality test. From there, the Key tailors workouts for the individual’s needs. If a student wishes to get a Wellness Key, they can submit a request and steps will be taken to ensure they receive one.
The Rec Center pays attention to how many people are in certain classes and when the pool is being used. They also use student feedback. This accounts for the greater variety of class teachers, adding more classes and dropping the price for classes from $60 a semester to $30.
According to Dr. Hart and Joel Swedlund, the Rec Center administrators consider student feedback.
“We’re always letting the numbers dictate what we do.” said Hart. “We want to make sure we listen to suggestions and then do what we can to improve on those.”
