I love setting goals and sharing my intentions about health and wellness through writing about exercise and physical activity for The Whole U—it’s a great way to inspire others and share all of the amazing resources The Whole U has to offer. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the big, hard-to-attain goals: capital-R [...]

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The Pacific Northwest is well known for its outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from seasoned adventurers to habitual couch potatoes and everyone in between. We are lucky enough to live in a region where there are many opportunities–from snowshoeing and skiing to snow play and skijoring–to bundle up, get outside and recreate in a way that respects [...]

Continue Reading →

I have a very clear image in my mind of my first experience practicing yoga with Mrs. Percival at Oaklea Middle School. Clearing the classroom of our desks and chairs, she gave us space to step away from our studies and try something new. I remember rather clumsily intertwining my arms and wrapping my legs [...]

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Yoga is a powerful tool for developing and strengthening resilience.  We all face trauma, adversity, and other life stresses. On top of living through a global pandemic, an ever-changing global climate, rocky political landscapes, and more, it can sometimes feel like these days are heavier than others. The weight we are all carrying is bearing [...]

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As we prepare for autumn, there is the realization that our routines and schedules are about to change. From time spent commuting to carpool lines and drop-offs, we may find ourselves wondering where and how we can fit in movement. The key is to get started where you are. Take a moment to pause and [...]

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No plans for the weekend? Why not take a hike? No, I don’t mean that sarcastically. There are tons of beautiful hikes in Washington! I’ve compiled a list of hikes, in order of difficulty, located on the west side of the state. Not an avid hiker? That’s okay! Start out with the hikes at the [...]

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published their second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. This comprehensive publication offers guidelines for children, adolescents, adults (including women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, as well as adults with chronic health conditions and adults with disabilities), and older adults. For the purpose of [...]

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Stroll in to Summer with UW Virtual Walk Week! Each year, The Whole U hosts UW Walk Week, a week dedicated to getting outside, increasing movement throughout the day, reducing stress, boosting productivity, and going back to the basics of what it means to move. Join us for a week full of virtual  and in-person [...]

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The Whole U is excited to announce that our annual UW Fitness Day will be returning as an in-person event on May 23. Fitness Day is a one-of-a-kind, campus-wide workout to celebrate movement. This will be the Whole U’s first live event in over two years, and we are thrilled to offer the UW community [...]

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Save the date! The Whole U is excited to announce that our annual UW Fitness Day will be returning as an in-person event on May 23. Fitness Day is a one-of-a-kind, campus-wide workout to celebrate movement. This will be the Whole U’s first live event in over two years, and we are thrilled to offer [...]

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Save the date! The Whole U is excited to announce that our annual UW Fitness Day will be returning as an in-person event on May 23. Fitness Day is a one-of-a-kind, campus-wide workout to celebrate movement. This will be the Whole U’s first live event in over two years, and we are thrilled to offer [...]

Continue Reading →

Save the date! The Whole U is excited to announce that our annual UW Fitness Day will be returning as an in-person event on May 23. Fitness Day is a one-of-a-kind, campus-wide workout to celebrate movement. This will be the Whole U’s first live event in over two years, and we are thrilled to offer [...]

Continue Reading →

As March is National Nutrition Month, our friends at the University Book Store served up five enticing cookbooks whose recipes will energize you to work out and inspire you to eat in. The Don’t Panic Pantry Cookbook By Noah Galuten This is the cookbook that seeks to answer the eternal question: “What am I supposed [...]

Continue Reading →

Making the shift towards conscious and sustainable living doesn’t have to be hard. There are plenty of small lifestyle changes we can make to create less waste and help keep our planet green. One way is to prepare and pack our lunches in a more sustainable way. Whether you’re trying to prepare a nourishing lunch [...]

Continue Reading →

Fiber. The word itself conjures up images of people eating bowls of cereal that look like tree bark or adding a powdery fiber supplement to their food. Although most people have heard good things about fiber, many still have questions about how much we need and where to get it. Fiber is found in nearly [...]

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Throughout the pandemic, many of us found ourselves adjusting to a different pace of life and finding new ways to connect more meaningfully. One way to do so is through family meals. Prioritizing family meals is important for improving family connections, and teaching children how to be competent eaters. While family meals do not have [...]

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Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the present moment. Mindfulness is a very useful tool for lowering stress, anxiety, improving mood, and creating a sense of calmness through meditation and other techniques. One area of our lives where mindfulness can be extremely useful for our health is when we are eating. Think about [...]

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Stay cozy during cold and rainy days with these warm, delicious soup recipes. Each one takes less than a half hour to make and can be cooked in larger batches for later. You’ll have a hearty homemade meal, perfect for days when you have less time (or energy) to cook. Here are some quick and [...]

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If you’re afraid of fats, you’re not alone. A recent Gallup poll found that 56% of Americans actively try to avoid fat in their diet. And while that figure may seem striking — it encompasses over half of the country, after all — the percentage has actually plummeted since 2004. Back then, 64% of Americans said [...]

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When most people think of summertime barbecues, an image of burgers with melted cheese and hot dogs on the grill comes to mind. These foods are perfectly fine in moderation, but don’t let the traditional idea of a barbecue prevent you from taking advantage of all the delicious produce summer has to offer! We are [...]

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Making fresh, produce-centric dishes with local goods is a great way to eat healthy and support your local farmers and environment. Eating local also often means simpler recipes – saving you more time savoring your plate. Summertime produce really speaks for itself—when ripe and ready, fruits and vegetables pack all the flavor and punch they [...]

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Add some extra sunshine and warmth to your diet by eating more citrus fruits! Bright, colorful, fragrant, refreshing, and juicy, citrus fruits are not only delicious for their balanced tart and sweet taste, they are also an essential part of everyday nutrition, packing powerful health benefits beneath that tough, leathery rind. Citrus fruits are rich [...]

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March is the perfect time to start thinking about your summer gardening plans. Not sure where to get started? Connect with the gardening community at UW! The University of Washington is home to a wide variety of resources and centers focused on sustainable gardening and farming. We’re highlighting resources from the UW Farm and the [...]

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Samantha Feczko, RD, CD, CNSC, is here to take us through the basics of how to tell teas apart, what to expect of different varieties, and what you can do to get the most from your tea-drinking experience! With cold days still on the way, this might be the perfect time to get cozy with a [...]

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March 31 is the Transgender (Trans) Day of Visibility (TDOV), an annual worldwide event focusing on the lives of transgender people and their lived experiences—both the joys and the challenges—as well as working to create safe and affirming spaces in the workplace and in the public sphere for people to live their authentic lives. Begun in 2009, TDOV [...]

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As March is National Nutrition Month, our friends at the University Book Store served up five enticing cookbooks whose recipes will energize you to work out and inspire you to eat in. The Don’t Panic Pantry Cookbook By Noah Galuten This is the cookbook that seeks to answer the eternal question: “What am I supposed [...]

Continue Reading →

Making the shift towards conscious and sustainable living doesn’t have to be hard. There are plenty of small lifestyle changes we can make to create less waste and help keep our planet green. One way is to prepare and pack our lunches in a more sustainable way. Whether you’re trying to prepare a nourishing lunch [...]

Continue Reading →

It’s March – time to break out the summer camp search for real.  Offering a variety of programs and activities, summer camps not only offer fun, meaningful experiences to fit your child’s interests and needs, they’ve also been shown to help build important social skills and contribute to overall wellbeing at a time when depression, [...]

Continue Reading →

Women’s History Month offers an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the many women trailblazers who came before us. Women’s* History Month was established in 1987 by presidential proclamation to celebrate the contributions and achievements of women socially, politically, economically and culturally over the course of American history. Women’s History Month began in 1978 as [...]

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Trips to the grocery store can be expensive, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed. The average U.S. household spends $4,942 on groceries per year, based on 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That’s roughly $412 per month. With inflation rising and continued supply chain shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [...]

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February marks the annual Black History Month recognition in the U.S., celebrating the achievements, influences and legacies of Black Americans. Throughout this month and beyond, The Whole U invites our community to learn more about, celebrate and honor Black history, present and future. Check out the below events taking place virtually, on campus and around the [...]

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In 2022, University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) launched a system-wide initiative called the Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Workshop Series. This initiative involved a series of four workshops that provided education, guidance and collaboration to healthcare teams that were interested in improving the health of their work environments. Based on the American Association of Critical [...]

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Gender diversity has existed throughout time and across cultures. However, in many western cultures we have been socialized to treat gender as binary, only recognizing men and women. In this context, understanding what gender-inclusive language is and how to use it can be confusing: it’s not typically something we learn in school, it’s constantly evolving, [...]

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“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Strength to Love, 1963. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday being signed into federal law. As we celebrate [...]

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The Pacific Northwest is well known for its outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from seasoned adventurers to habitual couch potatoes and everyone in between. We are lucky enough to live in a region where there are many opportunities–from snowshoeing and skiing to snow play and skijoring–to bundle up, get outside and recreate in a way that respects [...]

Continue Reading →

Creating an inclusive and diverse workplace culture is fundamental for everyone’s success. Whether neurodivergent or neurotypical, the most productive workplace is one in which people are mentally and physically healthy and feel safe enough to put their whole selves into their work. Neurodiversity is a term we hear a lot these days—and that’s a good thing: [...]

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Content warning: This article discusses sexual and domestic violence. Preventing problems before they occur. That’s a core value of community psychology, an interdisciplinary field that works to foster collective change, community wellness and the empowerment of marginalized and oppressed people. The field has a strong social justice bent, and practitioners are often passionate activists for [...]

Continue Reading →

Colleges and universities around the world are experiencing a range of new and historically unmatched pressures for change. The structures, systems, built environments and resources that have served as the fundamental frameworks for higher education are no longer consistently meeting the needs of the diverse citizenry these institutions aim to serve. This is perhaps especially [...]

Continue Reading →

Horacio de la Iglesia doesn’t always practice what he preaches. The sleep scientist and UW professor of biology, whose influential sleep research helped demonstrate the benefits of delaying school start times for Seattle high schoolers, knows that he should go to bed at roughly the same time each night. But on weekends, he likes to [...]

Continue Reading →

Davon Woodard is an urban guy. Though he spent a few years during grad school in Blacksburg, Virginia—a small college town in the Appalachian Mountains, home to Virginia Tech—most of his life he’s lived and worked in cities: Lansing, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Johannesburg (South Africa) and now Tacoma. In fact, it’s fair to say Davon [...]

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Most people are at least nominally interested in neuroscience. It’s cool to be able to talk to someone at a party about your recent dendrite growth, or the impact of a boost of serotonin on your personal cocktail of neurotransmitters, or the latest causal approaches to changing cognitive function. Actually, that would be a party [...]

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Wayne Au was lucky enough to come of age during hip-hop’s golden era. Listening to the stylistic innovations in the late 1980s and early 90s of pioneers like Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Queen Latifah, Run-D.M.C. and Nas, he was electrified by music bursting with lyrics of protest and Black pride, lyrics demanding solutions to urban [...]

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Exploring Indonesian culture and identity  The UW campuses abound with people who could rightly be characterized as Renaissance people, polymaths, multipotentialites – those who possess both strong intellectual curiosity and strong creative ability, coupled with interest and expertise in multiple subjects – and ethnomusicologist Christina Sunardi is no exception. Christina’s intellectual curiosity was ignited as [...]

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Psychiatrist Pamela Collins has long been interested in the intersection of mental health and global public health. While a medical student at Cornell University, she had the opportunity to conduct summer research in Haiti during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, a formative experience that brought into focus the impact of the sociocultural environment [...]

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In March, Dr. Nick Johnson (above left), a physician in the Emergency Department, Medical Intensive Care Unit and Neurocritical Care Service at Harborview Medical Center, contributed an article to Prevention describing What Life Is Like Inside a Seattle Emergency Department During COVID-19. We caught up with Dr. Johnson to learn what he and colleagues have [...]

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At the University of Washington School of Medicine, student service learning never stops—even during a global pandemic. Under “normal” circumstances, more than 500 medical students regularly staff some 50 healthcare projects that serve thousands across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. These clinical projects—which encompass advocacy, health education, and mentorship—form the primary pillars of community engagement [...]

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When Dr. Seth Cohen calls UW Medicine’s fight against COVID-19 a “team sport,” he does so with a world champion’s conviction. A gold medalist with the US National Team at the 1999 Ultimate Frisbee World Championships while in college, Cohen now serves as Medical Director for Infection Prevention at UWMC-Northwest as well as chief of [...]

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“A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions,” wrote social activist Dorothy Day. For Jane Lee, an assistant professor at the UW School of Social Work, words never rang more true. Born in Los Angeles after her parents had emigrated from South Korea, Lee took naturally to life in the [...]

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Trips to the grocery store can be expensive, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed. The average U.S. household spends $4,942 on groceries per year, based on 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That’s roughly $412 per month. With inflation rising and continued supply chain shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [...]

Continue Reading →

This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  Key takeaways Consider allocating no more than 50% of take-home pay to essential expenses. Try to save 15% of pretax income (including employer contributions) for retirement. Save for the unexpected by keeping 5% of take-home pay in short-term savings for unplanned expenses. Budget. [...]

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Finances can be stressful even without a pandemic. Striving to be financially fit takes practice, consistency, and hard work. But at the end of the day, efforts to increase your financial education and freedom have a positive impact on your overall wellbeing, from reduced stress and anxiety to a heightened sense of security. When it [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  It’s so easy to spend money—sometimes you don’t even realize the ways it leaves your wallet. But knowing these 9 ways companies try to get your cash can better equip you to keep it. Key takeaways The convenience of shopping from your phone can [...]

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It’s no secret that homes in Washington state and the greater Seattle-Tacoma area have skyrocketed in price over the last decade. In July the median sale price for a home in the Seattle metro area averaged at $795k, according to Redfin data. Historically, a down payment on a home has been 20% of the home [...]

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This article was provided by our partners at BECU. Take advantage of Whole U discounts with BECU including a $50 bonus deposit when you open a new checking or savings account! What is a CD? A CD is a certificate of deposit, a federally insured deposit account that has a fixed interest rate over a [...]

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TIAA, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, offers a wide variety of resources for financial education and support to the University of Washington community. Explore TIAA’s expansive offerings below. Custom Bi-Weekly Seminar for UW Employees As an employee of the University of Washington, TIAA provides customized webinars unique to your retirement plans and financial [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  See options on how to handle this large and somewhat unpredictable expense in retirement. Key takeaways Health care continues to be one of the largest expenses in retirement. Decisions about when to stop working, when to take Social Security, and how to generate [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  Key takeaways Always note the amount due and the payment date so you pay on time, every time. Read the contract with your card issuer so you understand the terms and possible fees you may face. Check your credit reports regularly to monitor your [...]

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Across the United States, millions of students utilize loans as a form of financial aid for higher education. In 2018, 70 percent of higher education graduates had used loans to cover some, or all, of their expenses. In July of 2021, student loan debt totaled $1.73 trillion! The reality is adults of all ages in [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at BECU.  Experts say that financial management is 20% knowledge and skills and 80% behavior. If reducing debt is your goal, putting some healthy habits into practice can take you a long way toward success. Emotions and Money Most of us want to believe we make [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at BECU. It’s often called the most wonderful time of the year, but somehow it’s also the most stressful time on your wallet. The following tips will help you to keep your budget in check throughout the holidays. Looking for gift ideas that contribute to your community [...]

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It’s March – time to break out the summer camp search for real.  Offering a variety of programs and activities, summer camps not only offer fun, meaningful experiences to fit your child’s interests and needs, they’ve also been shown to help build important social skills and contribute to overall wellbeing at a time when depression, [...]

Continue Reading →

When you start to research the options for senior housing, whether for a parent or for yourself, the process can be daunting. It’s a complex marketplace where both the financial and emotional implications feel overwhelming, and where unbiased information is hard to find. In the Seattle area, models for retirement housing range from staying in [...]

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The holiday season is upon us, and many people are planning in-person festivities. For some older adults, however, the holidays can exacerbate existing loneliness, particularly for those who have outlived family, friends, and finances and become isolated or those whose families live far away or are estranged. Recent research reveals that nearly half of Americans [...]

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UW CareLink is a free and confidential Employee Assistance Program serving UW employees and their family members. Read on for insights about this helpful resource from Jessica Cole, Director of WorkLife. My name is Jessica Cole, and it’s my absolute pleasure to serve the UW community as your Director for WorkLife. I’m also a divorced [...]

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September is national suicide prevention month. Suicide prevention is important every day of the year, but for the many organizations doing crucial and often unsung work all year long, September provides unique opportunities to raise awareness of risk factors, provide help for those who are struggling, and give support to those affected by the suicide [...]

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Human milk is recognized as the optimal infant feeding method for at least the first 12 months of life to promote the health of both the lactating parent and the child. Compared to formula-fed infants, those fed human milk have fewer ear infections, gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses, and even have a reduced risk of certain [...]

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It takes time to find care you care trust, especially when you have children of different ages. UW employees and students benefit from several programs and services to help it easier to identify options that work for your family. Prefer another way to access this information? Check out the recording Programs and Resources for School-Age [...]

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The long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of kids and teens – the pandemic generation, or Generation Covid (already truncated to “Gen C”) – is not yet known or fully understood. One secondary effect of the pandemic is already clear, however: after more than two years of remote learning, quarantining and [...]

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Many of us enjoy going on vacation or taking a break from working to relieve stress and feel rested. But did you know that in addition to regularly taking time off from your job, practicing daily meditation and spending time in natural surroundings are also directly correlated with better overall health and stress reduction? Studies [...]

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For parents hoping to enroll their children in summer activities, it is already time to start planning. We spoke with Leslie Rome, Director of UW Youth & Teen Programs, and leveraged her expertise to provide parents with advice on how to tackle enrolling and registering for summer activities this year. Where to begin and when [...]

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Family gatherings can be filled with mixed emotions; excitement to see loved ones, anticipation of meeting new partners or additions to your family, a sense of obligation, anxiety over relational dynamics and more. With the ensuing continuation of the pandemic and holidays coming up around the corner for some, it can be easy to feel [...]

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November is National Family Caregiver Month, a time to focus attention on the more than 50 million Americans (nearly 1 in 5 people) who care for loved ones with health or functional needs. In the U.S., Family Caregiver Month was designated 24 years ago to focus specifically on those who provide unpaid support for individuals [...]

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Media Contacts: Beth Herrell Silverberg 206-679-5157 beth_silverberg@hotmail.com Jean Hayes University of Washington 206-616-5475 (desk) 206-954-3764 (cell) jeanmh@uw.edu   University of Washington Sponsors Guinness World Record Attempt on National Have Fun at Work Day Whole U Event Helps Faculty and Staff to “Shake it Off” in the World’s Largest Umbrella Dance  January 28, 2015—Seattle, Wash. – [...]

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For Release 9:00 am PDT Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Thousands of University of Washington Faculty, Staff and Student Employees Will “Shake it Off” during Guinness World Record Breaking Attempt in Husky Stadium What: 2,000 University of Washington faculty and staff will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Umbrella Dance choreographed [...]

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In 2014, 1,200 UW faculty and staff came together to make history. Together, they set the Guinness World Record for the largest kettlebell class ever. In 2015, we are going to do it again, but this time we’re taking over beautiful Husky Stadium and showing the world we’re not afraid of a little rain. Together [...]

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Meaningful recognition is a powerful motivator. People need to know that what they are doing matters. They need consistent acknowledgement of their value in an organization, and they need to be given recognition in a way that is significant to them. For nurses and other patient care providers, meaningful recognition might be the difference between [...]

Continue Reading →

Content warning: This article discusses sexual and domestic violence. Preventing problems before they occur. That’s a core value of community psychology, an interdisciplinary field that works to foster collective change, community wellness and the empowerment of marginalized and oppressed people. The field has a strong social justice bent, and practitioners are often passionate activists for [...]

Continue Reading →

Working the night shift is not for everyone. There’s that perpetual jet-lagged feeling resulting from shift-work sleep disorder, the strain on one’s social life, the detrimental health effects and the disconnect with family members and friends who operate on a daytime schedule. But for those with night-owl tendencies, the night shift can have its benefits: [...]

Continue Reading →

George Thomas Jr. first became interested in salmon when, as a student at Indiana University at Bloomington, he was recruited from an introductory stream ecology course to spend the summer on the Olympic Peninsula assisting a team of researchers studying coho salmon habitat. Working among tributaries feeding the Queets River the summer before his sophomore [...]

Continue Reading →

Colleges and universities around the world are experiencing a range of new and historically unmatched pressures for change. The structures, systems, built environments and resources that have served as the fundamental frameworks for higher education are no longer consistently meeting the needs of the diverse citizenry these institutions aim to serve. This is perhaps especially [...]

Continue Reading →

When Val Schweigert meets with a student in a one-to-one advising session, they* seldom lead with their status as a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve. *Val uses the pronouns she/her and they/them interchangeably. This profile will emphasize this conscious choice by using them interchangeably as well.  Proudly genderqueer and fiercely progressive, Val does not [...]

Continue Reading →

Horacio de la Iglesia doesn’t always practice what he preaches. The sleep scientist and UW professor of biology, whose influential sleep research helped demonstrate the benefits of delaying school start times for Seattle high schoolers, knows that he should go to bed at roughly the same time each night. But on weekends, he likes to [...]

Continue Reading →

Sean Johnson moved to Seattle in 2010 with two goals in mind: he wanted to go to medical school at the UW School of Medicine, and he wanted to publicly come out as transgender and begin transitioning. He didn’t get into the UW School of Medicine. But he did pursue—and excel in—Master’s degree programs in [...]

Continue Reading →

Like many higher education professionals in disability services, Ian Campbell was driven to the vocation because of his personal experience with disability. Ian struggled with academics for years before finally being diagnosed in high school with learning disabilities. He characterizes the struggles before his diagnosis as “aptitude without performance”—the frustrating inability to fully demonstrate his [...]

Continue Reading →

Brooke Emrich is what you would call an extreme knitter. The educational seminars coordinator with the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology spends a not insignificant amount time with needles in hand. In 2008, going through a period of creative stagnation, the self-described “knitting addict” picked up her first pair of needles, participating in [...]

Continue Reading →

Davon Woodard is an urban guy. Though he spent a few years during grad school in Blacksburg, Virginia—a small college town in the Appalachian Mountains, home to Virginia Tech—most of his life he’s lived and worked in cities: Lansing, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Johannesburg (South Africa) and now Tacoma. In fact, it’s fair to say Davon [...]

Continue Reading →

Kristin Jones’s childhood dream of working in the field of pediatrics took a couple of hard right turns on its way to fruition, courtesy of an unplanned teenage pregnancy and an 18-year stint in the telecommunications industry. “I always wanted to be a pediatrician and work with kids—well, until I took a good look at [...]

Continue Reading →

Meaningful recognition is a powerful motivator. People need to know that what they are doing matters. They need consistent acknowledgement of their value in an organization, and they need to be given recognition in a way that is significant to them. For nurses and other patient care providers, meaningful recognition might be the difference between [...]

Continue Reading →

Working the night shift is not for everyone. There’s that perpetual jet-lagged feeling resulting from shift-work sleep disorder, the strain on one’s social life, the detrimental health effects and the disconnect with family members and friends who operate on a daytime schedule. But for those with night-owl tendencies, the night shift can have its benefits: [...]

Continue Reading →

George Thomas Jr. first became interested in salmon when, as a student at Indiana University at Bloomington, he was recruited from an introductory stream ecology course to spend the summer on the Olympic Peninsula assisting a team of researchers studying coho salmon habitat. Working among tributaries feeding the Queets River the summer before his sophomore [...]

Continue Reading →

When Val Schweigert meets with a student in a one-to-one advising session, they* seldom lead with their status as a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve. *Val uses the pronouns she/her and they/them interchangeably. This profile will emphasize this conscious choice by using them interchangeably as well.  Proudly genderqueer and fiercely progressive, Val does not [...]

Continue Reading →

Sean Johnson moved to Seattle in 2010 with two goals in mind: he wanted to go to medical school at the UW School of Medicine, and he wanted to publicly come out as transgender and begin transitioning. He didn’t get into the UW School of Medicine. But he did pursue—and excel in—Master’s degree programs in [...]

Continue Reading →

Like many higher education professionals in disability services, Ian Campbell was driven to the vocation because of his personal experience with disability. Ian struggled with academics for years before finally being diagnosed in high school with learning disabilities. He characterizes the struggles before his diagnosis as “aptitude without performance”—the frustrating inability to fully demonstrate his [...]

Continue Reading →

Brooke Emrich is what you would call an extreme knitter. The educational seminars coordinator with the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology spends a not insignificant amount time with needles in hand. In 2008, going through a period of creative stagnation, the self-described “knitting addict” picked up her first pair of needles, participating in [...]

Continue Reading →

Kristin Jones’s childhood dream of working in the field of pediatrics took a couple of hard right turns on its way to fruition, courtesy of an unplanned teenage pregnancy and an 18-year stint in the telecommunications industry. “I always wanted to be a pediatrician and work with kids—well, until I took a good look at [...]

Continue Reading →

Like many first-year college students, Yasmin Ahmed, who uses they/them pronouns, suffered from a bit of imposter syndrome when they arrived at UW in 2014. Although Yasmin was born in Seattle, they hadn’t been in the Pacific Northwest since they were a small child. Their family lived first in Muscat, Oman—where they recall playing in [...]

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You could say that Joseph de Veyra did not find nursing – nursing found him. Arriving in the U.S. as a 21-year-old immigrant from the Philippines with just $100 in his pocket, Joseph took advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself: caregiving. This early position quickly morphed into a certified nursing assistant (CNA) role. [...]

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It’s hard to be healthy when you’re poor. It’s hard to be healthy when you’re unhoused. Or when you are hungry, unemployed or underemployed, or unsafe. When you’re disabled or have a chronic illness. Or if you are Black or brown, LGBTQ+, an immigrant or refugee, or if you have other or multiple marginalized identities. [...]

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When Lucas Harrington was in college, his life was all about magic: magic after classes, magic every Friday night, and magic on the weekends in giant multiplayer games that carried on late into the night. Not the magic of card tricks and sleight-of-hand, however – Lucas’ preoccupation was with the wildly popular tabletop and digital [...]

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Sleep. We could all use a little more of it. According to the CDC, more than 1/3 of Americans are sleep-deprived or suffer from self-imposed sleep deprivation.  As a nation, we are not getting enough sleep. This, coupled with the stress of the pandemic, has further disrupted our sleep patterns. A report from the National [...]

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This article references the risks for and outcomes of heart disease in binary gender terms based on research that links heart disease impact to biological sex. We acknowledge the importance of all people to know their risk for heart disease and how to support their heart health. February is American Heart Health Month, an opportunity [...]

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In 2022, University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) launched a system-wide initiative called the Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Workshop Series. This initiative involved a series of four workshops that provided education, guidance and collaboration to healthcare teams that were interested in improving the health of their work environments. Based on the American Association of Critical [...]

Continue Reading →

The Pacific Northwest is well known for its outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from seasoned adventurers to habitual couch potatoes and everyone in between. We are lucky enough to live in a region where there are many opportunities–from snowshoeing and skiing to snow play and skijoring–to bundle up, get outside and recreate in a way that respects [...]

Continue Reading →

Join the Whole U this January for DARE TO BE 2023. Many of us begin the new year with ambitious resolutions and expect our lives to change overnight. This program will help you develop small changes that last. Starting January 9, spend 8 weeks working towards wellness areas of your choice. Each week you will [...]

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Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the present moment. Mindfulness is a very useful tool for lowering stress, anxiety, improving mood, and creating a sense of calmness through meditation and other techniques. One area of our lives where mindfulness can be extremely useful for our health is when we are eating. Think about [...]

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Every fall, as the days grow shorter and the sky darkens, I see patients whose mood begins to match the gloomy external world. They are tired, sleep long hours, and have trouble getting out of bed or leaving the house. Their arms and legs feel like lead, and their strongest desires are cravings for sweet [...]

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I have a very clear image in my mind of my first experience practicing yoga with Mrs. Percival at Oaklea Middle School. Clearing the classroom of our desks and chairs, she gave us space to step away from our studies and try something new. I remember rather clumsily intertwining my arms and wrapping my legs [...]

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Yoga is a powerful tool for developing and strengthening resilience.  We all face trauma, adversity, and other life stresses. On top of living through a global pandemic, an ever-changing global climate, rocky political landscapes, and more, it can sometimes feel like these days are heavier than others. The weight we are all carrying is bearing [...]

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It’s no secret that individual drive, effort and innovation are highly valued traits in the workplace, traits that result in recognition and reward in the form of promotions, pay and bonuses. But nonstop drive, effort and innovation can come at a price. The constant focus on success can make it difficult to allow yourself to [...]

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A hot topic in the realm of health and wellness is self-compassion. After an incredibly difficult few years, showing oneself grace and love is something we all need to incorporate more into our lives. Self-compassion is something that not only feeds strength back into your own life, but also into the lives of those around [...]

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September is national suicide prevention month. Suicide prevention is important every day of the year, but for the many organizations doing crucial and often unsung work all year long, September provides unique opportunities to raise awareness of risk factors, provide help for those who are struggling, and give support to those affected by the suicide [...]

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Women’s History Month offers an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the many women trailblazers who came before us. Women’s* History Month was established in 1987 by presidential proclamation to celebrate the contributions and achievements of women socially, politically, economically and culturally over the course of American history. Women’s History Month began in 1978 as [...]

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Volunteering is a fun way to support your favorite nonprofit organization – plus, research demonstrates that it’s good for you. Whether you are able to volunteer on a regular basis, or just have the occasional hour or two to spare, you can support a cause you are passionate about. Why Volunteer? Volunteering is good for [...]

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“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Strength to Love, 1963. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday being signed into federal law. As we celebrate [...]

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Each fall, the UW Combined Fund Drive – our workplace giving program for faculty, staff and retirees – spotlights a nonprofit organization doing amazing work to make our communities healthier and more resilient.  The 2022 featured nonprofit is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF is an independent and neutral organization offering medical humanitarian assistance around [...]

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Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the history, diverse cultures, achievements, and contributions of Hispanic Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Hispanic Heritage Month is also referred to as Latinx Heritage Month (the x indicating nonbinary gender inclusivity) but they are not the same thing: Hispanic refers to people [...]

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Thousands of kids across our state face barriers to success this back-to-school season. Your donation of supplies, money or time will help ensure these kids have what they need to realize their potential this year. For many children in our communities, there are any number of obstacles to getting an education: unmet basic needs, homelessness, [...]

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Our booksellers have put together this great list from across multiple genres to help readers learn about and understand the varied experiences of refugees from across the world. Short stories, poetry, and picture books bring to the forefront the heart of the lived experience instead of just more headlines. Check out these titles at ubookstore.com [...]

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Imagine walking six miles a day across hilly, uneven, or muddy terrain with a pack on your back that weighs 50 pounds. But this is not army basic training or a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Now imagine you are hungry and quite possibly suffering from gastrointestinal illness–yet you still must undertake this ordeal [...]

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February marks the annual Black History Month recognition in the U.S., celebrating the achievements, influences and legacies of Black Americans. Supporting Black-owned businesses – this month and all year long – is an easy and effective way to show solidarity with Black entrepreneurs whose products and services deserve patronage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, [...]

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The immense uncertainty and global tension of the past two years, resulting largely from the global Covid-19 pandemic, has more fully exposed the glaring issues of inequality and wealth disparity in America and around the world. Meanwhile, ambiguity about the economy and political landscape has intensified an already profound divide on issues that negatively and [...]

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  “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”   – Martin Luther King, Jr.2 The University of Washington celebrates the life of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and pays tribute to his legacy of justice and social advocacy. As members of the community, it is our civic duty to [...]

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Each year, the UW Combined Fund Drive selects a nonprofit organization to highlight during the fall fundraising campaign. Last year, as the Covid-19 pandemic gathered momentum and people’s lives were disrupted in so many ways, we chose to focus on food insecurity and ultimately raised $165,000 for Northwest Harvest. This year, we are again focusing on a [...]

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Meaningful recognition is a powerful motivator. People need to know that what they are doing matters. They need consistent acknowledgement of their value in an organization, and they need to be given recognition in a way that is significant to them. For nurses and other patient care providers, meaningful recognition might be the difference between [...]

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This month brings with it a great opportunity to recharge our self and collective care. Whether you’re interested in supporting the UW community, learning about your retirement options, trying virtual or in-person yoga classes or getting back to the basics, we have something for you. Take time to reconnect with yourself and your community with [...]

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March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, the UW community is invited to celebrate National Nutrition Month together with a variety of virtual opportunities. Participate in a challenge, connect with colleagues, try new recipes, and win prizes! Check out all of [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  Key takeaways Consider allocating no more than 50% of take-home pay to essential expenses. Try to save 15% of pretax income (including employer contributions) for retirement. Save for the unexpected by keeping 5% of take-home pay in short-term savings for unplanned expenses. Budget. [...]

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February is American Heart Month, dedicated to raising awareness about heart health and urging us all to take steps to prevent heart disease. There is no question that the heart is an essential organ. It beats about 2.5 billion times over the average lifetime and pushes millions of gallons of blood to every part of [...]

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Finances can be stressful even without a pandemic. Striving to be financially fit takes practice, consistency, and hard work. But at the end of the day, efforts to increase your financial education and freedom have a positive impact on your overall wellbeing, from reduced stress and anxiety to a heightened sense of security. When it [...]

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Start this New Year off by connecting with activities and resources to support your well-being. Whether you’re looking to reset your routine, check in with your goals or tackle long term planning, we have the events to support you. Our 8-week Dare to Be New Year’s wellness program will kick-off January 9. Each week, you will [...]

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Facing a severe blood shortage, Bloodworks Northwest is issuing a “Code Red” emergency in Western Washington and Oregon. Consider donating life-saving blood with Bloodworks NW at one of their pop-up locations at the UW Tower or Paccar Hall.  Blood donations, including platelets and plasma, save lives and improve the health of millions of people worldwide. However, [...]

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Join the Whole U this January for DARE TO BE 2023. Many of us begin the new year with ambitious resolutions and expect our lives to change overnight. This program will help you develop small changes that last. Starting January 9, spend 8 weeks working towards wellness areas of your choice. Each week you will [...]

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For those living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), the COVID-19 pandemic was not the first pandemic of their lives. The toll of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is staggering: since the discovery of the AIDS virus 41 years ago, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has claimed more than 35 million lives – more than 700,000 in [...]

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This December, we invite you to connect to the people and things that make you feel full. Join The Whole U and our partners for a variety of virtual events and activities designed to build community, celebrate the end of year, and build stronger habits to support your well-being. Inclusive Strategies for Welcoming Neurodiverse Team [...]

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This article is written and provided by our partners at Fidelity Investments.  It’s so easy to spend money—sometimes you don’t even realize the ways it leaves your wallet. But knowing these 9 ways companies try to get your cash can better equip you to keep it. Key takeaways The convenience of shopping from your phone can [...]

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