Championing student wellness
Congratulations to Western Vitals on their People’s Choice Award and third place finish in the Mental Health 2.0 competition, showcasing the use of social media in promoting campus mental health. The awards were presented by the Council of Ontario Universities in a special event in Toronto last week.
Vitals is a student-led initiative that promotes wellness in medical training by centralizing campus and community resources, hosting workshops and raising awareness among students. The Vitals project was created by Kevin Dueck, Daniela Kwiatkowski and Julian Surujballi, Medicine Class of 2016, through an Ontario Medical Student Association (OMSA) Innovator Grant last year.
The project received over 385,000 online votes in the Mental Health 2.0 competition. “It was great to see the support for these projects and recognition of their importance in using social media to connect with students,” said Kevin Dueck, one of the project’s creators.
At the Toronto event, Dueck, Kwiatkowski and Surujballi had the opportunity to pitch the project to social media experts and gain valuable feedback, something Dueck says will help Vitals grow. “This was a great opportunity to bring more attention to the issue of student wellness, make connections and receive input on moving the project forward,” he said.
