Westminster Students Become Peer Health Educators

Ten Westminster students successfully completed a two-day training course on Feb. 10-11 in Rolla, MO to become Certified Peer Health Educators.

This certification is nationally recognized accreditation for comprehensive training in issues related to health, wellness and student leadership.

“The students that attended this certification had the opportunity to work with peer health educators from around the state and were trained by a national organization,” says Amanda Gowin, Westminster’s Advisor to Peer Health Educators. “This experience helps connect the students to a better understanding that they are part of a larger effort to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Students attending the training included sophomores Emily Davidson from Houston, MO; Destri Eichman from Fulton, MO; Margaret Morris from Eugene, MO; Yasuf Nuur from Maroodi-Jeex, Djbouti; Chelsea Sharp from Bridgeton, MO; and Nikki Testerman of Spring, TX along with juniors Fatima Jafari from Kabul, Afghanistan; Hannah Marshall from Baldwin, MO; Briana Patlan from San Antonio, TX; and Fathimath Shafa from The Maldives.

“These students are now more empowered to be change agents on our campus and in their future endeavors,” says Gowin. “The training serves as a leadership development and networking opportunity, along with new programming ideas for Westminster College. These students dedicated a lot of time during a busy part of the semester to make our community better. I am very proud of them and the work that they do.”

The certification program is through the BACCHUS Network, a subset of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession.  The BACCHUS Network promotes peer to peer strategies as effective tools in health and safety education of college and university peer education programs.