It all adds up to
Excellence for SOCA When you add up the district American Advertising Federation (AAF) Addy Awards, USF’s communication arts and graphic design (CAGD) students definitely come in on the plus side. In fact, a USF student has captured Best in Show in the student category at the AAF spring Addy Awards for the past three years—ever since the AAF added the student category.
OUR FOCUS
healthy bodies
For the fifth year, USF served its community by providing a site for Focus on Health, a community-wide effort to enhance wellness and expand awareness of good health practices. Community residents lined up at the North Campus for free health screenings and reduced-fee medical tests. USF’s School of Health Sciences (SOHS) students, along with students from other schools on campus, assisted the many exhibitors to educate on wellness, said Diane Martin, an instructor in the Physical Therapist Assistant program and coordinator of Focus on Health on campus.
This spring, USF’s Caitlin Nelson earned the Best in Show distinction, but USF CAGD students also brought home nine other gold and 13 silver awards for a total of 23. CAGD students at USF are encouraged to become involved in Insignia Advertising, USF’s official college chapter of the AAF, which welcomes the student members to the local Addy Awards. Besides attending and entering the Addy Awards, CAGD students in Insignia coordinate the Addy Gallery and have the opportunity to network with area advertising professionals. Students in the CAGD program also benefit from regular portfolio reviews with faculty, internships with professional design agencies, 24-hour access to secured facilities, numerous gallery and lecture programs, and travel abroad opportunities.
“They get the experience serving, learn about their own health, and the community receives the information to encourage general wellness,” Martin said. Students in the school’s Exercise Science Department gave demonstrations on Zumba and yoga every half hour, and students from the Keith Busse School of Business and Psychology Club also made contributions from their fields of study. Focus on Health is part of the university’s Wellness Committee initiatives, which have included initiating a smoke-free campus and hosting Focus on Health each year. In addition to the free basic tests for blood pressure, body mass analysis, vision and colorectal cancer, the university joined the other sites in providing the new A1C hemoglobin test for diabetes, in addition to blood chemistry, thyroid, prostate and other blood tests for a nominal fee. USF-specific tests included an ankle brachial index test to measure blood flow to legs, a test for balance to screen for the likelihood of falling and mammograms by Francine’s Friends. Screenings for hearing, bone density, foot care and skin abnormalities were also available.
Each spring, area designers meet with CAGD students to critique their portfolios and offer valuable insight about the marketplace and the profession. Many students have been offered internships from these sessions.
IStan, one of the simulated patients from the SOHS Simulation Lab, was on-site to give viewers a look at the range of behaviors and vital signs the simulations exhibit as learning tools for USF health careers students. Faculty members and nurse practitioners also provided health summary reviews and resource referrals after the screenings.
That adds up to success.
Photos by William Bryant Rozier
saint francis magazine | fall 2011
29