As the spring semester comes to an end, there is no doubt that both students and staff have acquired a significant amount of stress while preparing to end on a strong note. While it may be easy to get caught up working on assignments and studying for finals, it’s also important to manage stress and remember to take care of one’s self.

Students can do so with the help of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (PECANS). The college will be hosting the “Stress Less Move More” Dead Day Fun Run.

“At the end of this semester, we figured that day [Dead Day] would be a good one, because there’s no classes and it gets them one last hurrah with their peers before finals,” said Ellis Vidmar, graduate assistant for the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.

A similar event was held in November for students to participate in. However, this is the first Dead Day 5k walk/run that the college has hosted.

“We’re going to try to make it a biannual thing. We saw some pretty good interest with the Turkey Trot and we think that with more advertising, we can make it even a bigger success over the years,” Vidmar said.

The title of the event proves to be timely due to the month of April being Stress Awareness Month.

According to integracareclinics.com, “Stress Awareness Month has been recognized every April since 1992. Learning to cope with our stress and finding healthy ways to deal with these situations can go a long way in living a healthy and positive life.”

While the event will be open to all majors, the first priority will go towards PECANS students.

“We are taking the faculty, staff and students within the college first. And then of course, if anybody else wants to join, we’re not going to turn anybody away,” Vidmar said.

COVID-19 prevented in-person events. However, with the improvement of conditions on campus, more events are now taking place for students.

“We really like having events for our students to come to in person. Just get some outside and doing something that’s fine and safe and move their body,” Vidmar said.

The first 30 students to register for the Fun Run will receive a free t-shirt. Students can register by emailing Vidmar ([email protected]) or Megan Miller ([email protected]).

For more information regarding the Fun Run, visit the WTAMU PECANS social media (@wtamupecans) and keep up with the department’s newsletter, the “Buff Brief.”