My name is Melody Hager, and I have been employed as the Healthy Aging Student Communications Employee since the Fall of 2017. My responsibilities span a variety of tasks, including engaging with participants in our evidence-based programs, gathering interviews and testimonials of their successes, photographing and videoing their progress, and drafting relevant posts for both the Facebook page and website.
However, my job is so much more than that. Through this position, I have seen first hand the determination and drive that lies within all of us to better ourselves.Through the YMCA Moving for Better Balance program, I have seen a participant with Parkinson’s gather the skills necessary to navigate the world with their condition. And I was honored to have met Martha, participant-turned-mentor of the Diabetes Self Management Program, and learned how she went from struggling mentally, to a stronger, better version of herself.
My position at the NC Center for Health and Wellness has given me access to some of Asheville’s finest, strongest people. I have been given the opportunity to meet members of my community and engage with them on a human level. This wasn’t included in the job description, but it has been one of the happiest surprises I have ever experienced.
There are few things as special as being able to meet the people who benefit from the programs for which you advocate. Though my time at the Health and Wellness center is coming to a close at the end of the Spring 2018 semester, the things I have learned and the people I have met will forever be ingrained in me, both in my mind and in my heart. I am more than grateful to the NC Center for Health and Wellness for my experience as the Healthy Aging Student Communications Employee.