Melissa Godinez is our April wellness spotlight award winner! Melissa is a medical assistant and Wellness Ambassador at UMG Campbell and was nominated by her supervisor, Megan Huth.
Megan’s nomination:
“Melissa has introduced healthy eating and healthy living to the team at UMGC. She recently launched a water challenge to encourage us to drink more water throughout the day. Melissa created “water trackers” to help staff keep track of how much water they should aim to drink each day. She also introduced, Smoothie Day. This is a fun effort where each employee brings a healthy ingredient to make a smoothie. She is a great motivator and keeps staff thinking of healthy ideas to improve their well-being.”
WELL@UHA asked Melissa to share more about her wellness work at UMGC and how she cultivates wellness both for herself and her colleagues. Read her Q & A below to learn more about Melissa.
Q. Your nomination mentions how you motivate your team members to attend to their well-being. What are your favorite ways to motivate colleagues?
A. I think that I’m fortunate enough to have a small clinic where I can get everyone’s input on what interests them and what they’d like to see happen in their clinic as far as being healthy and mindful. Having a smaller clinic allows the opportunity to hear everyone’s ideas and collaborate with them.
Q. Tell me about the water challenge you started. What is it, how did it work, and what were the results?
A. We wanted to start off with something that was easy and that would be beneficial to our health, so we set out to do a water challenge. The person who drank the most water in a week won. Mid-week everyone started to get a little burned with the challenge, so I sent some encouraging emails to my team and, Megan, our supervisor, provided us with “flavored” water throughout the week with lemons, oranges, and cucumbers to change it up a bit, which helped a lot. There were a few people in our clinic who barely drink water at all on a regular basis, so it was a little more difficult for them, but we all rallied behind each other. Another cool thing was each of us shared what change we noticed in ourselves while doing this challenge- some slept better, others felt less stressed, or even had more energy. It was a great experience. We will definitely be doing it again!
Q. Megan also mentioned you started a smoothie day – what a great idea! If other groups are interested in doing something similar – how do you coordinate smoothie day and how often?
A. We talked about it in a huddle and decided what smoothies the group would like to make. Pinterest was a big help, especially with some individuals who’ve never made a smoothie before. We did a sign- up sheet with the basics – yogurt, juice, fruits and then we added a few more “exotic” items like kale, protein powders, and coconut water. I was able to bring my bullet mixer, which was easy to bring to the office and also easy for everyone to make a smoothie to fit their individual tastes.
Q. How do you stay motivated to be well yourself?
A. My 12 year old son keeps me motivated to be active. He loves sports – soccer and basketball. I try to be well to keep up with him. It gives us time together too, which I always appreciate, especially now that he’s getting older.
Q. What’s your favorite way to support your own wellness?
A. Having “me time.” Whether it’s going for a little walk or writing in a journal. Any way that I can take a time out for myself, even if it’s watching bad reality TV.
Q. What brings you joy?
A. My family, friends, being able to spend time with people I love.
Thank you to Melissa for being such a strong wellness ambassador for your team and motivating them to be well at work!