Move. Thrive. Be. Community Wellness Event at USC Hybrid High College Prep
Club Thrive in Joy senior leaders Beatriz Martinez (in the blue shirt) will be attending John Hopkins University and Fatima Torres (in the grey shirt) is weighing options between several acceptances to California state universities.
Club Thrive in Joy leaders Beatriz Martinez, Fatima Torres, and Nadia Valle-Luna, envisioned “Move. Thrive. Be.” as a holistic health initiative for their peers and families in the South L.A. community surrounding USC Hybrid High College Prep. Their initiative, which has been awarded a $500 Hershey Heartwarming Young Hero Grant, came to life on the USC Hybrid High campus on April 20th. Beatriz Martinez was awarded the Hershey grant for her initiative which aligned with the grant program’s mission to support young people who are advancing inclusion, empathy, kindness, and connection in their schools and communities.
USC Hybrid High is located in South L.A., which is a community comprised of predominantly low-income and minority residents. Seeing the healthcare injustice occurring in the community and around the world has driven the young Club Thrive in Joy leaders to create this event that positively impacts both student life of their Hybrid community as well as on their entire families.
A trainer focused on the physical aspect of health through demo sessions on yoga and weightlifting. There was also a focus on mental health, and USC medical students shared tips on time management based on results from a student focus-group study that Fatima conducted among 42 student volunteers (see resources below). In addition, A+ CPR and Fire Safety taught the basics of CPR, The Justin Carr Wants World Peace Foundation educated attendees on undiagnosed heart conditions in teens, University Eye Clinic conducted eye screenings, and Crystal Stairs provided information and guidance on how to get health insurance along with access to other community wellness resources. There were also raffle items and gift card prizes with the theme of overall health. Club Thrive in Joy student leaders diligently advocated for their needs by reaching out to corporate businesses for donations (see below for the list of sponsors). Every booth at the event was aligned with one of the C11 character traits.
Time Management Resources:
What inspired the Club Thrive in Joy senior leaders to create this event?
“When I was younger I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to go into the medical field. But then after my grandfather passed away due to a lack of medical resources in Oaxaca, I quickly realized that not everyone has access to health care the way I did. While I am only a teenager I can only do so much, so I decided to focus on my school community, with the help of my wonderful team- Mary, Fatima, Nadia, Elizabeth and Ms. Batizy- we are able to be advocates for health equity in South LA.”
- Beatriz Martinez, Club Thrive in Joy senior leader
“People always overlook their mental health and try to ignore how their state of mind is. Not many people realize how important it is to take breaks, play games for a bit to help relax, etc. I, for example, get caught up with home stuff and it feels like I don't have time to do a lot of things I'm supposed to be doing. Mental health and time management go hand in hand. I realized that the reason as to why I struggle to keep up with my own mental health and every other responsibility in general was because of my poor time management skills. I believe that with this portion of the event, students, and even others, will realize how important it is to manage their time. I believe that with a good time management plan will improve people's mental health because of the breaks while keeping them on track with their responsibilities.”
- Fatima Torres, Club Thrive in Joy senior leader
Hear from Katie Erickson (pictured 2nd from the left), a first-year medical student at the USC Keck School of Medicine, about her volunteer experience at Move. Thrive. Be. Her experience is reflective of what other volunteers had to say about their experience.
“I was one of four medical students that had the amazing opportunity to be a member of the Thrive in Joy team as part of our service-learning requirement for USC Keck School of Medicine. My role included collaborating with and teaching local high school students about time management. First, we hosted two focus groups, each consisting of about thirty USC Hybrid High students. Not only did we learn about barriers to the students’ ability to manage their time, but we also collaborated with the students on ideas for improving efficiency and their workflow throughout the day. Interacting with the high school students was very fulfilling, as I saw how motivated the students were to do their best in school. Additionally, I am grateful for the opportunity to make an impact on the students’ lives and community. After the focus groups, we compiled the knowledge we gathered and created a brochure to pass out at the Holistic Health Fair, Move. Thrive. Be. Watching how excited the students were about their well-being and health was very motivating. While hearing about students’ everyday lives, their job aspirations, and their goals of attending college, my team and I passed out the brochures and advised students on how they can best manage their time. We enjoyed the multitude of booths at the health fair, offering Pilates classes, CPR training, free eye exams, health juices and so much more. Working with Thrive in Joy was very rewarding, and I would love to do so again in the future!”
- Katie Erickson, first-year medical student at the USC Keck School of Medicine
Event Sponsors:
