Senior Julia Nolle has been emphasizing movement on her IB CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) wellness challenge.
Her four-week program is designed to support the mental and physical health of students and staff here at NDA The challenge spanned over the month of February with each week building on to the last and with a new focus.
Participation is flexible and simple. Students move for 20–30 minutes, two to three days a week. They either completed the recommended workout that Nolle sent out or chose to do any physical activity they enjoy.
Participants also fill out a short Google Form before and after the challenge to record the activity’s impact.
“It’s meant to fit into their lives, not take over them,” Nolle explained.
Nolle wanted her challenge to impact people beyond the cliche “just-be-healthy” advice. Her challenge stands out by providing structure, weekly themes, accountability and reflection on top of simple motivation.
“It’s not just motivation,” Nolle claimed. “It’s an actual plan with measurable impact and consistency built in.”
The idea for Nolle’s program stemmed from her own personal experience feeling burnt out at the end of her junior year with balancing academics and track. Nolle found that consistent movement helped her mentally reset .
“It gave me structure and helped me feel more in control,” Nolle said.
One of the biggest challenges for Nolle in setting up her project was balancing structure with flexibility so the program wouldn’t feel intimidating or too hard.
To advertise, Nolle collaborated with Frau Jennie Laaksonen to share the interest form on the Morning News Show as well as an email sent out to all students and staff at NDA. With the help of Mrs. Danen, Nolle was able to to shape the project. She also adjusted workouts based on participant feedback.
Nolle believes her project represents both Activity and Service within CAS.
“I identified a need and tried to create something helpful and measurable,” she said.
Taking charge of such a well-rounded program taught Nolle many things, such as intentional approaches to wellness and service as well as leadership factors.
