The Walktober Wellness Challenge encouraged the UTMB Academic Enterprise community to make walking part of everyday life, with a shared goal of building healthy habits, enjoying our beautiful Galveston campus, and connecting with colleagues.
Over the course of the month, 1,377 faculty, staff, and students participated in the 30-day challenge to walk at least 20 minutes a day. Beyond the individual daily walking challenge, the Office of Wellness hosted 14 group walks, welcoming more than 300 participants to step away from the workday, enjoy the outdoors, and connect with colleagues.
It has been incredible to see a community take shape around a shared commitment to well-being. Our Walktober Teams channel became a lively hub for sharing progress, celebrating milestones, and cheering one another on. We heard from faculty who were walking more regularly, inviting colleagues to join them, and embraced a little friendly competition. Thank you to everyone who participated, joined a walk, posted an update, encouraged a colleague, and helped bring Walktober to life.
We are especially grateful to Provost Susan Chubinskaya, PhD, MS for championing Walktober and reinforcing the importance of making wellness part of our culture. Thank you to our Walk with a Doc leaders, Tracy Toliver Kinsky, PhD; Allison Popovich, MD; Mohanad Albayyaa, MD, PhD; and Carole Tucker, PT, PhD, along with our many campus partners who helped make these walking experiences possible
This inaugural wellness challenge is just one step in the Office of Wellness’s ongoing work to create meaningful well-being opportunities for faculty across the Academic Enterprise. We look forward to building on this energy through future walks, wellness programs, and shared experiences throughout the year ahead.
Let’s keep taking steps together!