You have the POWER to take control over your health.
POWER is a student organization in the Office of Health Promotion that provides the Villanova community with resources and tools related to health and well-being. POWER stands for Peers Offering Wellness Education Resource. POWER hosts events and programs, including painting with POWER, Snack N’ Chat with POWER and more.
Christina Babyak is the advisor of the Community Advocates of POWER.
“In my role, I help guide our Community Advocates in the program-planning process and help coordinate important programming details that allow their ideas to come to life,” Babyak said.
Students in POWER come from varying majors, but all share a passion for health and wellness. Joining POWER allows students to become leaders in their community and provides them with resources to help improve their physical and mental health.
“POWER plays a big role in the Office of Health Promotions’ work,” Babyak said. “POWER members are our eyes and ears of what health and well-being-related issues are going on around campus, which allows us to better address these issues. POWER plays a key role in improving the health and well-being of the Villanova student body.”
There are three branches of POWER, including Administrative Assistants, Interns and Community Advocates.
The Administrative Assistants are responsible for collecting materials used for different programs, distributing the “Stall Street Journal,” setting and cleaning up events, tracking social media analytics, and managing the inventory of supplies used for giveaways. They also help organize staffing for Pet Therapy sessions.
There are three different roles in the internship position: the Event and Logistics Intern, the Publications Intern and the Social Media and Marketing Intern. The Event and Logistics Intern plans programs that professionals lead. The Publications Intern creates the “Stall Street Journal.” The Social Media and Marketing Intern manages the Office of Health Promotions’ social media and marketing.
The Community Advocates organize and implement peer education programs on mental health, substance use, nutrition and physical health, sexual health and sexual violence.
“My favorite thing about being a member of POWER is the learning aspect I didn’t consider when I joined,” Community Advocate Lily Renga said. “I’ve met so many new people especially in the [freshmen] class that I have been able to interact with and have a positive impact on. If you want to be an advocate for other people, if you care about the health and wellbeing of others and the student body as a whole, you should definitely join POWER.”
Community Advocates also host Painting with POWER sessions, where students paint, following a Bob Ross tutorial video, and discuss health resources with a campus expert. They additionally facilitate Snack N’ Chat events, where members of POWER lead a guided listening circle discussion.
“My favorite event is small group discussions,” Community Advocate Lauren Armstrong said. “It is very inspiring hearing people from different backgrounds and in different parts of their lives come together on one topic and foster an inclusive conversation and environment.”
Snack N’ Chat small group discussions give students the opportunity to discuss topics such as healthy communication, eating healthy on campus, navigating identity and more.
“A few benefits of being a POWER member are having the ability to address the health and well-being needs of your peers, grow your student leadership and professional skills, gain valuable experience in areas including event planning, social media, marketing, publications and more,” Babyak said.
Applications for students to become members of POWER next semester are due on March 25.
“A future goal for POWER is to strengthen our collaborations with other organizations on campus,” Babyak said. “Many of us have a common goal and bettering the well-being of the Villanova student body. I would love to see all of us come together and unite our strengths to do so.”
To learn more about POWER events and the application process to become a member, you can visit the Office of Health Promotion website and follow POWER on Instagram @VillanovaPower.
