How to Stay Healthy in College

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We all know the saying that “health is wealth”, but then why do we let it slip by the wayside while we are in school? Prioritizing your health–physical, mental, and social–is important, especially as you transition more into adulthood and take ownership of these aspects of your life.


Physical Health

Take advantage of the Corec

The France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center, known by Purdue students as the “Corec” is one of the nicest, most state of the art gyms you will probably ever have access to and is free for students! There are so many options there for you to work out and be physically active from cardio equipment to free weights and machines. The Corec also has rock climbing and bouldering walls, two pools, dance studios, and much more! They also run the intramural (IM) sports leagues, so grab your friends and sign up for something fun like sand volleyball or innertube water polo. This is a really fun way to spend time with friends and meet more people! To learn more about what intramural sports Purdue offers, you can find the current sports being offered here.

Join an active club

Sports are a great way to stay active in college. I know that coming from high school, I really missed the organization and competitive outlet of sports. Joining a club sports team or student organizations that focus on physical activity can help hold you accountable, give you something to work towards, and join a really fun community of athletes! This also helps to build some structure into your schedule with practices meeting at certain times for most clubs. I joined the triathlon club last year which has been an absolute blast, but there are so many sports organized at Purdue. If you are interested in a specific sport, chances are Purdue has it in some capacity, and you can check out a full list of organizations here. If sports aren’t your thing, there are still so many student organizations that focus on activity and health. You can also search for these clubs in the previous link to learn more!

Mental Health

Find your outlet to decompress

For me, this looks like going for a run, writing, getting into nature, or cooking a fun, new recipe. Anything that gives me a sense of peace, I use to decompress. This obviously takes some trial and error, but it is part of figuring out who you are and how to easily relax after a long day or week. Around Purdue, there are many nature areas and parks such as Horticulture Park and Happy Hollow Park close to campus. There are also many wellness activities also run through the Corec wellness department such as mindfulness and meditation sessions, cooking classes, online wellness guides/workbooks, and even massage therapy that you can learn more about here. However you choose to relax, making time to make these things a priority and knowing you have the resources to explore how you can relax is very important.

Use your resources at Purdue

As a student, you will have access to all of Purdue’s mental health resources through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). CAPS has so many offerings from mental health workshops to just having someone to talk to if you need it. They have many online resources as well as in-person resources, and they have several services that are of no charge! Whatever you need to get through what you might be going through, CAPS will most likely have a resource. To learn more about CAPS and their services, check out their website here.

Social Health

Make time to spend with friends

Amidst the studying, clubs, and activities of everyday life, it may feel impossible to find time in your schedule to do things with friends. I can promise you that there is time, you will find it if you make the time. I like to plan my week in advance or more to make sure I am still doing things with friends. The weekend after I have a big exam, I like to plan things with my friends like going to a trivia night, watching movies, or going out for dinner. It is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on school and neglecting your friendships or relationships, but making them a priority in the balancing act of life is still really important. College is a great time to develop friendships, so make the time to have fun making memories in the process!

Be active in organizations where you feel a sense of community

Your time at Purdue flies by so much faster than you think, and the journey is so much more fun and enjoyable with people you feel the most at home with. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed with such a large campus such as Purdue, there are so many ways to make such a large community feel small. This can be done very easily with active involvement in campus organizations. For me, I can easily say that being an active member of the Women in Engineering Program has given me an incredible sense of community and belonging. From the programming for current students that they offer–mentoring, networking, learning, and more–to being given the ability to work for an amazing staff giving back to future students, I really feel as though I have a space to call home. This little community has helped me stay motivated to work hard in chasing after my goals, and I would highly recommend being further involved in Women in Engineering when you come to campus.


This is just the tip of the iceberg of how you can maintain your health while you are a student at Purdue. If you have any questions or want to learn more about anything, please send us an email or reach out to us on social media!

Becca Jennings, MSE '24

WE Link Leadership Team


Stay Connected With Purdue WiE Program!

Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering

Instagram: @purduewiep

Blog: purduewiep.blogspot.com

Email: welink@purdue.edu



Use the hashtag #PurdueWiE on Facebook and Instagram!


Purdue Women in Engineering

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