Student Stories: Campus Group Attends Meeting of the Minds Conference

By Samantha J. Henderson ’21

This week, 10 Westminster students along with seven faculty and staff members are attending the “Meeting of the Minds” conference hosted in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Hilton Conference Center.

The “Meeting of the Minds” is a regional health and prevention conference that is taking place Apr. 4 to Apr. 6. It includes not only Westminster College from here in Fulton, Missouri, but also colleges from nine other states and two Canadian territories. The conference will explore topics including, but not limited to, prevention efforts related to college students, mental health, law enforcement, drug and alcohol use (with a sort of emphasis on opioid use), wellness, diversity issues, and violence.

In an interview with one of the attendees of the conference, Professor Amanda Gowin (M.Ed., R.D., L.D.) she told of how she, as an advisor of Peer-Health Educators on campus, hopes to bring back to campus strengthened knowledge and ideas for college health and wellness as well as a strengthened group of students working together. Professor Gowin also spoke of how she strives to help students “see that peer health education is a national effort” and not just a campus effort.

This meeting will be the 13th consecutive year that Westminster College has had a representative of the college in attendance. Faculty and staff that will be attendance this year include Amanda Gowin, Therese Miller, Kasi Lacey, Sarah Stevens, Lauren Williams, Cinnamon Brown, and Madison Shaw. Students that wish to broaden their knowledge of Peer-Health Education that will be able to make it to the conference include Katherine Hammond, Madison Ekern, Sam Giftos, Brenden Brown, Matt Copher, Yusuf Nuur, Jeremy George, Megan Davis, Maggie Morris, and Chelsea Sharp.

Those attending from Westminster range from freshman level to seniors, making for a broader range of student groups to benefit from the conference. Best wishes and safe travels to those attending the conference from the Westminster community!