NUTRITION AND WELLNESS FROM COLLEGE TO COMMUNITY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0214495
• Grant No.: 2008-38426-19399
• Proposal No.: 2008-03187
• Project Start Date: Aug 1, 2008
• Project End Date: Jul 31, 2009
• Grant Year: 2008
• Program Code: [RD]- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
303 LOWE STREET
VALDEZ,AK 99686-0097

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
This project will address the nutrition and wellness needs of incoming college students, primarily Native Alaskan students between the ages of 18 and 24 from remote Alaskan villages, some of whom may be away from their home communities and making their own lifestyle choices for the first time. This project will not simply address the needs of these college students, however, but will also impact the lives of those in their home communities. Students involved in the project will learn about human nutritional needs and will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the subject through the following means: Passing HS 203 Normal Nutrition with a grade of "C" or higher; demonstrating safe food handling techniques; completing a defined fitness program; producing a relevant brochure or flyer; and, completing and reporting on the results of a nutrition- or fitness-based project in their home communities. Students will also meet regularly with the Native Student Services Coordinator who will formally track their progress. The intended results of the project include: Impacting the lifestyle choices of Native Alaskan students and their families as related to diet, fitness and overall wellness; and, providing the supports necessary for an under-served population to succeed in an unfamiliar educational environment. Project Narrative: One of the long-range goals of Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC) is to better address the educational needs of Alaska Native students, many of whom come from small, rural villages and who are currently under-served by institutions of higher education. (2) While PWSCC is an Alaska-Native Serving Institution, recruiting students from rural villages to attend school full-time at our main campus in Valdez, then retaining them once they are here, poses difficulties for several reasons. Many rural students, especially students from Native villages, are not prepared for life away from their families and communities. Not only are we asking them to adapt to a rigorous educational program, we are asking them to do so in an unfamiliar environment away from their primary support systems, cultures, foods, activities and comforts. Even students who do well in schools at home and who do not have nutrition or fitness issues at home frequently develop such issues when they are away from their traditional foods and familiar activities, such as camping, hunting and snow-mobiling. Poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and the overwhelming number of poor food choices available can lead to decreased attention and focus on school work, further contributing to poor academic performance. Additionally, it is oftentimes the support of family and very close-knit communities that has allowed students to succeed at home. Once away from those supports, students are ill-equipped to overcome the pressures of residence hall life and college classes. Deaths or tragic events in their home communities frequently impact these students to such a degree that they are unable to recover and return for further schooling.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
903	6099	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

nutrition

wellness

health

college students

community

education

safe food handling techniques

Goals / Objectives
Enroll project participants in either a Wellness Center membership or in another program of physical activity available in PWSCC extended campus communities. Provide at least two hands-on nutritional cooking clinics per semester, with students actively involved. These clinics will be provided by adjunct faculty in Nutrition and/or by a Registered Dietician. Enlist project participants to become active members of the Multicultural Club. Retain at least 10 project participants from fall semester 2008 through spring semester 2009. Project participants will produce an informational brochure that can be used to disseminate nutrition and wellness information to members of their communities. Project participants will complete and report on a nutrition or fitness-based activity in their home communities. After project completion, enroll at least 10 project participants in their second year of college.

Project Methods
By providing support in the form of (a) regularly scheduled meetings with the Native Student Services Coordinator; (b) membership in the Multicultural Club; and (c) assistance with making healthy decisions, we will be building a community on which participants may rely in times of difficulty, whether academic or personal. Participation in a fitness program and hands-on education in food handling and preparation will provide participants with additional coping tools in the form of better overall health and an understanding of the choices available to them. Requiring project participants to apply their learnings to their home communities will bring awareness of these issues to the communities served by PWSCC and will allow participants to give back to the communities that have supported them. (5) Detailed plan of operation: Registration for courses, academic advising, and tracking of academic progress are completed through the Student Services Department. Classes are delivered either in person or through distance technology by either full-time faculty or adjunct faculty whose credentials have been reviewed by the PWSCC Academic Review Committee. Upon arrival on campus, participants will be advised and will register for classes. The Native Student Services Coordinator will be responsible for tracking student participation in sponsored activities, as well as having recruiting and other advising duties. In order to achieve project objectives and really integrate academic learning into the lives of the participants, PWSCC staff will work directly with project participants to develop projects that can be completed in the home communities of the partucupants and will provide time and space for presentations about their learnings. (6) Detailed timeline Summer 2008. Immediately upon notification of grant award, recruiting of scholarship student participants will begin Late August 2008. Most participants will move into student housing on the Valdez campus and will attend an orientation program specific to this scholarship program. Students who choose to attend from their home campuses in Cordova and the Copper Basin region will be able to attend via teleconference. Participants will be enrolled in ENGL 100B College Success Skills and HS 203 Normal Nutrition, both of which begin with the fall semester in late August 2008 and will be enrolled in Wellness Center (gym) memberships, or the equivalent in their community. Fall Semester 2008. Participants will meet regularly with the Native Student Services Coordinator, who will track their participation in sponsored activities and will work with them on any social issues or needs. Participants will attend two scheduled hands-on cooking/food handling demonstrations offered jointly by a dietician and their Normal Nutrition instructor. During these demonstrations, students will be active participants, preparing much of the food themselves. Participants will work with an adjunct faculty member and the Native Student Services Coordinator to determine the content and design of their nutrition and wellness brochure, and the brochure will be produced during the spring semester.

Progress 08/01/08 to 07/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Students enrolled at PWSCC through the "Nutrition and Wellness from College to Community" USDA grant program largely achieved the outcomes for the program. A total of 15 Alaska Native and rural students were recruited into the program, with 11 completing at least. These students were required to take a Wellness Course to build personal attention to self-care and well-being, and a Normal Nutrition (HS 203) course, and were required to pass both with a grade of C or better. 6 of the students completes the year with cumulative grade point averages of C or higher, and 7 completed the HS 203 Normal Nutrition class with a grade of C or better. Students were required to complete a project benefiting their communities, such as a brochure promoting nutrition or wellness designed specifically for use in their communities. These projects were completed by the students completing the program, representing 5 rural towns and villages (Gakona, Chitina, Delta, Glennallen, and Valdez). The projects were shared in the communities from which each student came. PARTICIPANTS: Bill Painter, PI on the grant, was the principle record keeper and worked with the PWSCC Grant Writer (below) to document and produce reports. Lisa Sparrell, PWSCC Grant Writer, compiled and maintained records on the program. Brian Spear was the Native Student Coordinator during the grant period, and was the primary contact for the students. Time and effort was in keeping with the parameters of the grant, and records were kept for these individuals with time sheets reflecting the appropriate accounting, as required by the grant. TARGET AUDIENCES: Alaska Native and rural students included: Apolo, Gin Apolo, Kerra Boyd, Caleb Fellman, Malissa Ginn, Daniel Ginn, Thomas Heston, Megan Prokopiof, Felicia Savage, Shannon White, Sarah PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The HS 203 Normal Nutrition course, while developed, was not in the regular rotation of courses. This project changed that, and the class remains in the regular rotation into Spring 2013. For the communities served, which include Gakona, Chitina, Delta, Glenallen, and Valdez, benefitted from the projects produced by students. These pamplets and brochures were distributed at all three PWSCC campuses. The students were given the opportunity to develop a lifestyle based in wellness by participating in a wellness program of their choosing at the PWSCC Wellness Center, some by enrolling in the Wellness course; a component of this requirement was completing a personal fitness plan. Students attended regular meetings with the Native Student Services Coordinator, and participated in the college Multicultural Club. In addition to completing these requirements, students also participated in the Halloween trick-or-treat for the Valdez Food Bank, prepared healthy snacks for a number of on-campus student events, and hosted a Valdez water vs. bottled water taste test as part of Solution Earth, a community forum focused on environmental issues.

Publications

• No publications reported this period