University of San Diego Magazine - Fall 2025

WELLNESS BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS By Elena Gomez B efore the doors to the Palomar Health Student Wellness Center opened in April, Kimmel Yeager arrived several months earlier for her newly created position as the facility’s STUDENT AMBASSADORS LEAD THE WAY IN CAMPUS WELLNESS ADVOCACY

the team found their first cohort of wellness ambassadors who met their vision for the program: well-connected students who were interested in the health and wellness field, and who already understood some of the wellness services offered on campus. “They’re not expected to be experts in counseling or disability services, or dining services, or anything like that, but they will be able to get all the general information to be able to help students navigate to the correct information,” Yeager said. Nursing student Kaleena Jezycki saw the call for the Student Wellness Ambassador Program and jumped at the opportunity. As the only graduate student in the program, Jezycki was looking for new ways to get more involved on campus — and to utilize her nursing background. “I think this is just a great opportunity to learn for myself how to provide better care,” Jezycki said. “I also think this is a great opportunity for the nursing school, in general, to get more involved on campus because there are so many things that our students are eager to do.”

executive director. From counseling services to fitness gear, Yeager was tasked with knowing the ins and outs of all the wellness offerings at USD. The problem? There was a lot to learn. “One of the reasons I took the job here at the university is because of how great USD already is in terms of wellness services,” said Yeager. “And then I got here … and it was hard to figure out what was where, even for me as a new employee.” That’s when she got the idea to launch the Student Wellness Ambassador Program, a student run leadership team that would help disseminate information about the USD wellness resources to the campus community. Alongside Serena Gandara, director of Campus Recreation, Matt McIver, assistant director of Wellness Center operations and Anne Cass, director of the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion,

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