Learning gets real for College of Health and Human Sciences students during Life Inspired Week

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu

Students have gotten involved in a variety of ways in HHS’ Life Inspired Week, including planning a Wellness Wednesday event (2025 event pictured on left) and offering fitness assessments (2025 event pictured on right).

Learning comes to life when it becomes something you can touch, and that’s exactly what will happen during the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences’ annual Life Inspired Week from March 26-April 2. From hearing screenings to a wellness fair to fitness assessments, students will showcase the applications of their learning in HHS’ nine departments and schools through engaging activities that are not only fun but also help make lives better.

“Our college is so large and broad that students don’t see everything that we have in their day-to-day,” said Maegan Cutter, associate director of events and the organizer of Life Inspired Week 2026. “I think it’s important to get them involved so they can see what all HHS is. I hope they see with their experience in HHS that everyone in the college wants to help them and wants them involved. We want to give them everything we can.”

Event management meets student wellness

The 2025 Wellness Wednesday event (pictured) was the first time HTM 46200 students got involved in Life Inspired Week. (Photo provided)

Shawn Jung, assistant professor in the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, began integrating Life Inspired Week into his HTM 46200 (Advanced Event And Meeting Management) course in spring 2025 for students’ capstone experience. Now in its second year, the Wellness Wednesday event will promote wellness resources, tips, organizations and involvement opportunities throughout Purdue to HHS students.

“Doing stuff for HHS has always been really fun because it breaks you out of your major,” said Dana Radtke, a student in HTM 46200. “It can feel small with all the people you interact with every day, so coming in to do something for HHS, you’re working with all nine schools, and you’re getting to see all the other people who are here as well and need these resources.”

Jung noted this event is particularly beneficial to the students because they get to put the skills they’ve learned into practice across all stages of an event under the guidance of experienced event planners in the college.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to actually plan and execute an event, so I appreciate the opportunity Maegan and HHS has provided for them,” Jung said. “It’s encouraging to see students getting involved every step of the way. Sometimes it’s hard decisions they have to make, and given the resources, they sometimes have to do more with less. They learn about communication skills. They learn about how to engage with different stakeholders. It’s just great to see students learning through this real-world experience.”

For Radtke, this opportunity goes even deeper than a course grade or a learning experience because it allows her to have a meaningful influence in HHS students’ health journeys.

“You’re paying to be here, so why not take an opportunity of getting to know everything that Purdue has to offer?” Radtke said. “Especially freshmen and sophomores, they might not know. So, this event allows us to just be able to help them figure out what is available to them.”

Performance testing with purpose

Students in the clinical exercise physiology classes in the Department of Health and Kinesiology will also be participating in Life Inspired Week under the guidance of Adam Heavrin, Health and Kinesiology lecturer, through their Boiler Strong event. This event will feature a variety of health and fitness assessments, including a total body strength assessment using a hand grip dynamometer, an exercise adherence survey, a balance test and a cardiovascular assessment using Lambert Fieldhouse’s indoor track.

Students in the Department of Health and Kinesiology’s clinical exercise physiology classes gain real-world experience giving fitness assessments.(Purdue University Photo/Tim Brouk)

“We’ve chosen assessments that are all meant to get the most bang for your buck — things that you can do, get information back on quickly, and potentially make some actionable decisions or spark some discussion where you don’t necessarily need fancy equipment,” Heavrin said.

In performing these assessments, Heavrin hopes to build his students’ confidence in their skills and help them see themselves as experts in their area of study.

“A lot of times when they learn about these assessments in class, they’re doing them with the other students, which is great because it’s low stakes; it’s safe,” Heavrin said. “When they get into situations like this, it’s real, live people, and they are always nervous, which is great because then there’s a pressure element. You can almost see the pride that they take and the good job that they really want to do in that moment. The click — it happens. You see it.”

While his students will walk away from the event with more hands-on learning experience under their belts, Heavrin noted the attendees will also walk away with measurements and data that could help inform their health and well-being.

“If at the very least they have more of an interest in how to understand their physical activity and fitness metrics — putting numbers to what it means to be physically active and be fit — I think that’s a really good value,” Heavrin said.

A week full of events

In addition to these course-related events, other student-sponsored events include a walk with Dean Aaron Bowman and the HHS Student Ambassadors; an inaugural, college-wide career fair from the HHS Student Council; and the annual Black Tie Dinner led by the HTM Society. There will also be many other events and activities throughout the week that students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can participate in. To learn more, visit the Life Inspired Week webpage.