Throughout each year, every Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., the gym at STLCC-Meramec is cleared for faculty and staff of Meramec.
Tim Doty
– Copy Editor –
A few teachers prepare assignments to help their students. Some professors stay after class and tutor their pupils. Some, however, simply walk for a few minutes a day for the betterment of students and themselves.
Throughout each year, every Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., the gym at STLCC-Meramec is cleared for faculty and staff of Meramec.
For that hour, any professor, faculty or staff member and even students are welcome to walk around the gym.
“We do this for the students,” said Angel Fingers, aerobics instructor at Meramec. “It’s one hour a day so they can be more productive, serve students better, and be healthier overall. We’re here because we want to be better for our students.”
According to Fingers, she wants her fellow staff and faculty to “take 10.”
“Just 10 minutes [of walking] a day will make you more productive. A lot of the time, they walk 10 minutes then they go back to their desk or job,” Fingers said.
The staff and faculty participate in a walking program for their health, mental and physical wellness in this program conceived by Bob Bottger, manager of physical education and athletics at Meramec.
The program was put into effect for the betterment of the campus as a whole. The program has been running for about five years.
Velma Tharp, a cashier in the business office of Meramec, has been walking since the inception of the program.
“I’ve been doing this for five years,” Tharp said. “I got an e-mail that the new program would start. I do this five days a week now during my lunch. It’s brought my blood pressure down.”
Fingers said that walking helps people from both the cardio aspect and the release of being able to relax.
According to an article by http://runnersworld.com, researchers at Syracuse University found that people burn an average of 74 to 88 calories while walking one mile and burn approximately 105 to 124 calories running one mile.
“Studies have shown that for some 10 minutes of walking can lower blood pressure, increase circulation, and help them feel better psychologically. It’s a way to de-stress, and it helps them be better for the students.”
Some of the Meramec staff that go for a stroll do so on their free time. “That time [that they walk] is not the college’s time,” Fingers said.
More females than males are usually present for this daily opportunity to walk. One of the men that walks on a regular basis is Mike Kuchar of the maintenance department. He walks with the staff “just about every day.”
“I get here at 5 a.m., so I like to walk here during my lunch break,” Kuchar said.
Biology lab technician Jan Bast has been walking with the group for over a year. She does so for the break that it provides during the day.
“It makes me feel better, and it’s a nice break in the day. We enjoy doing this,” Bast said.
The faculty members of Meramec that walk do so for the exercise, camaraderie, and enjoyment. Kelly Hadley, advising and counseling, was encouraged by Fingers to start walking.
“Angel encouraged us. I knew that I needed to walk, so I started to come up here,” Hadley said.
Fingers wants more people to come to the gym and walk. She said that walking is “so simple and easy” and that the effects are powerful.
“Try it for 10 minutes and tell me how you feel afterwards. It’s such a powerful program,” Fingers said. “I get to know people. These aren’t just my walkers, they’re my family.”
