410 Forum — News
A Day With UNC's Wellness Director
By Lindsey Trujillo
The alarm clock rings. It’s around 6 a.m. Meetings, activates to plan, and research to be done are all thoughts that go through Tricia Tort’s head as she gets out of bed to embark on another day.
Tort’s, assistant director of fitness and wellness, first task of the day is to get 7-year-old Drew ready for school. Drew attends a Greeley elementary school that is not far from the University of Northern Colorado campus, where Tort and her husband Joseph, both work.
Joseph is a study abroad coordinator at the Center for International Education. His office is in the University Center, which is a couple of blocks away from Tort’s office at the Campus Rec Center.
At 8 a.m., Tort parks her vehicle and walks into work. The first thing Tort does when she gets to the office is the payroll for her department. Tort takes all of about 15 minutes to complete it.
Her fingers smacking down on the keyboard can be heard from the hallway of her office as she opens e-mails and sends out replies. She takes her time when sending a message to the dean of students about a student who is over-exercising. Tort monitors students like this in order to ensure their safety.
The first meeting of the day is with the group that deals with sexual assault. Tort helps the group plan events that will take place on campus to raise awareness.
As Tort walks across campus to her meetings you can tell that she enjoys the warm weather and the sun as her face rises to greet the warmth of the day. Tort is usually casual; dress pants a frilly shirt with a floral pattern and a black pair of stilettos.
Tort’s next stop is Ross Hall, where she will conduct a survey to get data about how college students view healthy lifestyles and if it is a priority in their lives. The National College Health Assessment is given to random students through the UNC campus. Jessica Weiderspon, one of Tort’s program assistants, helps Tort give out the survey.
After the hour-long survey, Tort walks back to her office. Next she has a meeting with Scott Schuttenberg, director of campus recreation. They discuss things like the chances of Tort attending the American Health Conference and allowing students to charge group fitness classes onto their student accounts.
At around 3 p.m. Tort stacks up the paperwork from the meeting with Schuttenberg, and it is back to clanking down on the keyboard. Tort works on the wellness newsletter for the month. The newsletter lets students and staff, know what is going on throughout the month with the program.
When the newsletter is complete, Tort finishes up plans for a dance clinic at the Rec Center. The clinic is put on by a dance group on campus to help promote a fit lifestyle.
Caylynn Schell, Tort’s second program assistant, helps put on the dance clinic. She also helps in organizing events for Wellness Wednesdays and Eating Awareness Month. Schell helps with the detail of projects so that Tort does not have to do everything herself.
“The dance clinic is just another event that the wellness program wants to offer students in trying to make students see that there are many ways that you can stay fit and also that your well being is important,” said Schell.
At 5 p.m Tort closes down her browser windows on her computer, clears off the clutter of papers that were stacked on her desk and flips off the light switch to her office. Another work day is done and she is headed out the door.
Tort drives to the University Center to pick up her husband, picks up Drew from day care and drives home. It’s around 9 p.m. and Tort sets her alarm clock while she thinks of everything that she has to do for the next day, but that will have to wait because it is bedtime.
