Sacramento State students came out in record breaking numbers to this year’s “WELLcome Back” event to celebrate the building’s 5th year anniversary.

“Hornets” swarmed throughout the facilities and engaged in a variety of activities to learn more about what resources their tuition helps fund.

Jill Farrell, business manager for Union WELL Inc., worked the event and said that the WELL was anticipating close to 5,000 students at this year’s event making it their highest turnout yet.

Besides being a fun-filled event, “WELLcome Back” was an opportunity for many students to tour the facilities and learn more about the services the WELL has to offer.

“This is our 5th year anniversary, so it’s an extremely special one for us,” Farrell said. “We’ve really kind of pulled out all the stops for the students so they can see what the WELL has to offer and so they can know more about what their membership can give to them for the year. We just wanted to have a lot of fun things for them to do and prizes to give away to just make it as welcoming for everybody as possible.”

For many avid gym goers like third year communication studies major Christian Gutierrez it is hard to believe that just five years ago this building was non-existent.

“It’s crazy for me to imagine how people on this campus functioned before the WELL existed,” Gutierrez said. “I come here every day during the semester and during the summer I wish I was here too…It’s what’s helped me lose my ‘freshman 35.’”

With the biggest rock climbing wall within the CSU system, an indoor track, multiple fitness classes and their Peak Adventurous partner all in the same building, the WELL provides students with more than the usual gym would to get a good workout.

The WELL is more than just a place to go lose a couple pounds. Many students appreciate having a safe and convenient place on campus where they can go to receive physical and mental care.

Thanks to funding allocated towards the WELL, students have the luxury and benefit of receiving physical, optometrical, medical and psychological care that may have otherwise been difficult for them to obtain.

“I definitely make sure to get my money’s worth,” said fourth year kinesiology major Tanya Benson. “I schedule my free eye appointment right at the beginning of the semester before they get extremely overbooked. And ever since I had a friend who was a part of Active Minds, I started going to the cooking demos every now and then when I forget my lunch…there are so many good things here but I don’t know how many students know about them.”

Active Minds is one of the many programs out of the WELL that provides information for students to care for their overall health. Run primarily by students under the supervision of the Sacramento State Student Health and Counseling Services staff, Active Minds aims to help students by teaching them about things like stress management, college mental health, sleep, body image, food and mood, and college health jeopardy.

“I think it’s kind of cool that we have stuff like the rock-climbing wall, the racquetball rooms and even our own personal pharmacy because I don’t know how many schools actually have things like that,” said fourth year kinesiology major April Vang.

Over the past five years the WELL, like the Union, has become a central part of our campus. And as our population at Sac State nears 30,000 students, the need for additional space at both facilities has become undeniable. Reinforcing the notion that the time to expand both buildings has come. Starting this Fall students have already begun paying a $99 fee increase in order to help cover the cost of the expansion that will be underway in the upcoming years.

To learn more about the WELL, check out their website thewell.csus.edu for news about it’s expansion, upcoming events and services provided at the facility.