May 2017 News

Students Receive Grant – Start “HealthyIsNow” Program

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Two Academy students, Sakhi Shah and Ritika Mehta, were recently awarded a $1000 grant from AdVenture Capital (AdCap), an organization that aims to support a new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs through promoting health and wellness in the community.

Shah and Mehta received two grants from AdCap, one for $250 and one for $750. With these grants, they created a new program called HealthyIsNow. The students have already held an informational seminar with a physical therapist as the guest speaker before focusing on their main project of implementing a bike program for the Academy. With money from the grant, the students purchased four bikes as well as other essential equipment that can be checked out by Academy students. Shah and Mehta also worked with Ball State’s Office of Risk Management on creating a waiver for the program. The program started April 18th, and it allows for the bikes to be checked out by students for transportation and fitness around campus.

Shah and Mehta said one of the biggest challenges they faced was figuring out how to channel their ideas into reality at the Academy. “At first, we felt divided between addressing nutrition versus addressing physical wellness, both of which are incredibly important, as we have found that students who attend boarding school tend to develop unhealthy lifestyle habits.” After seeking advice for school administrators and counselors, the students eventually decided to promote physical activity though a bike rental program.