Laurie Krupski is director of the Living Well Center. A UB doctoral student in counselor education, she holds bachelor's and master's degrees, also from UB.

What is the Living Well Center and how is it related to the Student Health Center?

The Living Well Center is a part of the collaborative Health, Wellness, and Counseling Centers of the Division of Student Affairs. They are recognized as complimentary, as they are mutually dedicated to the health and well-being of our students. Our mission is to foster an environment in which personal growth, healthy choices and positive community values are encouraged.

How does the Living Well Center define wellness?

Wellness is a general condition of feeling fit, well-balanced and complete. It is a journey to self-discovery and comes through a lifestyle based on positive values, attitudes and choices for one's health and happiness.

The Living Well Center is one of the few campus wellness centers that gives credence to the "well-rounded nature of wellness." Can you explain what this means?

Wellness involves a proactive prevention of disease and the conscious development of the whole self. Caring for one's wellness involves deliberate, daily steps toward freely chosen goals in all areas of life: the physical, spiritual, cultural, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational and environmental aspects-what we call the inter-related dimensions of wellness. The aim is to be balanced, conscious of your self as a whole and complete person, living life as fully as possible.

Why is it important for a university to promote wellness among its students?

University students are at an excellent stage in their lives to be awakened and engaged in the process of self-discovery. Many are experiencing the freedom to explore all life has to offer, and can benefit from healthy guidance and direction from mentors. Students can learn to manage their freedom and make healthy choices to cope with changes in college, and not turn to negative coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and drug use. By promoting wellness, the university sends the message that it cares about the choices students make for themselves and works to provide a safe environment for them to take responsibility for their future and maximize their true potential.

What are some of the free services and resources you offer students?

The services we offer include:

- Relaxation Station: Kick back and de-stress in a reclining chair with heated massage pads. Enjoy the sounds of a water fountain or music to help you escape.
- Wellness Resource Suite: We also have videos, audio cassettes, CDs and books for loan, and magazines and journals to browse.
- Prevention Library: Find thousands of handouts, pamphlets, posters and brochures representing more than 200 health- and wellness-related topics, free for the taking!
- Assessments: blood pressure, body fat, carbon monoxide, flexibility, vision testing (by appointment), stress, time management, lifestyle assessment, Alcohol 101 (CD ROM), diet assessment (by appointment).
- Outreach Programs: The Living Well Center promotes wellness through a variety of outreach activities on campus, including Stress and Time Management, Healthy/Unhealthy Relationships, Alcohol and Drugs and Safer Sex. Special events include the Great American Smokeout, World AIDS Day, National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, Safe Spring Break and others.
- Personal Consultations: Meet one-on-one with our full-time staff or talk to a POWER advocate, a student trained in wellness education.

POWER Program: An opportunity to earn course credit outside the traditional classroom setting, and add skills and friends in the process.

SEPAD Program: Student Education Program on Alcohol and Drugs. Group education classes. Our services are supported by student fees, so they are mostly for students. However we also support annual employee wellness days and faculty/staff requests for workshops.

You've been involved in efforts to increase alcohol awareness in the university community, including overseeing the production of a student video on the dangers of binge drinking. What is the role of the Living Well Center in terms of alcohol and drug awareness and prevention?

The Living Well Center will continue to move forward to educate students on the dangers of alcohol and drug use and misuse. We also are recognizing the need to expand the definition of prevention (beyond alcohol and drugs) and appreciate the value of enhanced collaboration. We are actively creating a prevention network that will consist of individuals from various service offices dedicated to both the enhancement of protective qualities and the reduction of risk factors. Examples of protective qualities include positive assets, such as creativity, balance, resilience and personal efficacy. Risk factors include regretted experiences, intolerance, peer pressure, violence, and misperceived norms. Ultimately, the more protective factors our students can identify with, the more they will be able to rely on their internal resources and not fall prey to negative coping mechanisms such as alcohol and drug use. According to sociologists, a powerful motivation is what we perceive others to be doing, especially others whom we admire and want to emulate. We need to educate the campus community on the facts of what is occurring on campus that speaks to positive student development. We need to remind them that the majority of college students are striving towards academic and personal success, and not the party atmosphere.

What new programs or initiatives can the university community expect from the Living Well Center in the next year?

In addition to the development of the prevention network, we're establishing an updated prevention library. We've developed an interactive theater troop that is available for requests around violence prevention and alcohol and drug abuse.

Finally, we have added a new workshop about relationships, whether they are dating, family, roommates, work related, etc., to help individuals more effectively communicate their needs.