Students were offered a space to discuss sexual, mental and personal health as well as better nutritional habits Thursday afternoon during the Share the Love and Wellness Open House.

The open house was sponsored by the Health Education Resource Center. Emma Welton, a Health Promotion Coordinator, said it provided different activities for students to learn about their overall health.

Because the three-hour event was discussion-based, students were able to ask a lot of questions, Welton said.She said most presentations health promotion coordinators put on have been in Greek Court houses, dorms and during on-campus events, but this one was more informal.

Welton said she and Breanna Rehor, another Health Promotion Coordinator, want to make more of a mark on campus and continue to think of new ways to reach students besides their normal presentations.

“Even if the students didn’t come to the event today, we still have a lot of resources (at the HERC) for them to learn about these topics,” Rehor said.

“If students are interested and want to take ownership of their own sexual health, we have presentations, as well as tabling sessions on sexual and mental health.”

The open house featured several different sections, with one of them being specifically on sexual health.

Students were given free condoms, safe sex packets and a small lecture on how they can promote their own sexual health.

Another section of the event was centered on nutrition. Students walked away with recipes and some ideas on how to boost their nutrition, Rehor said.

Ally Kuehn, a nutrition promotion coordinator, said the open house was a good opportunity for students to see what the HERC is all about.

One of the services Kuehn offers students is individualized, free nutrition counseling.

“I will work with a student on their personal goals, and everything I promote is evidence-based,” Kuehn said. “They’re getting proper nutrition knowledge and they’re being motivated to do any activity they want.”

Kuehn said her specialty is creating a healthy shopping list on a budget.

“I help (students off campus) with meal planning and grocery shopping. I help them develop  healthy nutrition while financing on a budget,” Kuehn said. “(With) people on campus, I can help them master the dining hall and be able to create a healthy plate with what options are in front of them from Panther Dining.”

Rehor said another activity students participated in at the open house was writing notes for the Random Act of Kindness Week.

The Random Act of Kindness Week is another event sponsored by the HERC.

Rehor said the health promotion coordinators will be delivering personalized messages across campus next week.

“Students can send notes to faculty, staff or friends saying anything they want and we will send it to them for free,” Rehor said.

Mike Santoria can be reached at 581-2812 or mtsantoria@eiu.edu.