UNE congratulates newly certified Peer Health Educators

UNE congratulates newly certified Peer Health Educators

Four undergraduate University of New England students recently completed training and received certification to serve as Peer Health Educators (PHE) to their classmates on the Biddeford Campus. Aly LeBlanc ‘20, Matthew Toussaint ‘19, and Emily Wasina ’19 of the Health, Wellness, & Occupational Studies (HWOS) program, and Kylie Copland ‘18 of the Athletic Training (AT) program, each earned their PHE certification in early November after completing a series of eight online education models, one each week since September.

Throughout the training, the students gained knowledge and skills in a variety of areas, including change making, effective listening, responding to crises, bystander interventions, group dynamics, program development and more. The PHE certification training is administered through NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

The Peer Health Educators recently completed a needs assessment of the UNE student population, and are now using their training and the assessment findings to begin crafting tailored educational programs for UNE students to be offered in the coming Spring semester. Freshly certified, they are excited to start supporting the health and wellness of their peers.

The Peer Health Educators earned their certification and completed related assignments as part of an independent study course being co-taught by Eryn Neptune, M.S., UNE Health and Wellness educator, and Collyn J. Baeder, M.P.H., assistant clinical professor of Health, Wellness and Occupational Studies.

Learn more about wellness programming at UNE.

To learn more about the University of New England’s Westbrook College of Health Professions visit www.une.edu/wchp

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions