Painting Signs & Making Strides | Photo by Britin Frazey | The Wright State Guardian
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Counseling and Wellness Services staff put on the Painting Signs and Making strides event. Hosted at the outdoor seating area of ReyRey Cafe, students let their creativity show as they contributed to an important cause.
The purpose
Sara Baker is the Health and Wellness Program Manager with CWS. She is a registered nurse and public health professional, and her job focuses on health education and promotion.
“We have been tasked with creating a Wright State Raiders team for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk,” Baker said.
Baker explained that the purpose of the event was to make signs for the upcoming Making Strides Mini-Walk at WSU.
“We made sure the route is just on sidewalks. We’re not crossing any streets or going into the grass or anything, so it is wheelchair accessible. We want everybody to be able to participate,” Baker said.
She continued to explain that leading events such as this one were part of the campus’s efforts to contribute to the cause.
“If you can’t make the big walk, you can still participate in big ways. Helping make a sign is huge,” Baker stated.
Making signs
When the signs were handed out to students, they each had a post-it note with an arrow, indicating which direction their sign would be pointing to on the path for the Mini-Walk.
Olivia Hurley, a freshman psychology major, loves to do crafts and express herself creatively. She painted a detailed butterfly over her pink arrow.
Hurley shared that she plans to attend the Mini-Walk, but she first is hoping to come up with a good outfit for her service dog, Clarence.
“I’m thinking I’m gonna try to see if I can get him in mostly pink gear,” Hurley said. She shared that she likes to dress Clarence in headbands for events.
Brooklyn DeLawn Thomas is a senior psychology major who just transferred to WSU this year.
“I didn’t know about [the event] until I stepped into ReyRey. A woman was like ‘Do you want a free drink?’ and I feel like that's a great tag to start with,” Thomas said.
She may have come for the free drink, but she stayed for the entertainment. Thomas even painted her sign with a pink breast cancer ribbon and the words “for her” written at the top.
“I like how they have it outside. I love the painting, and I love what it’s for. I thought this was a really good idea, even if it wasn’t for breast cancer awareness. Stuff like this is very interactive,” Thomas shared.
The cause and next steps
Shannon Moorman, a junior social work major, was one of the first people in attendance at the event.
“I always do stuff with counseling and wellness, and painting is good for my mental health,” Moorman said.
“It makes me feel good, really connected with other people, and a chance to talk with other people and things like that,” Moorman said in regards to attending the events held by CWS.
Audrey Akers is a staff therapist at CWS. She will be running the women’s therapy group soon and identifies herself as a feminist clinician.
“I hope to empower women, advocate for women [and] speak up for their rights,” Akers said. “These are helpful things to do to take care of your reproductive health, and it’s very meaningful work.”
The event saw greater success than anticipated, running out of signs to paint after only about thirty minutes. The painting went on for a while, though, with students talking and sharing in the experience.
The Mini-Walk will start at BART, leaving at noon on Sept. 10.
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk is on Oct. 12 and takes place at the Dayton Dragons Stadium.
