As a way to reflect on and showcase their experiences, we ask our fellows to record themselves answering a series of questions about their fellowship experience. Above is Joie's contribution to the A Word from Our Fellow vlog series.

"With the percentage of children with obesity in the United States more than tripling since the 1970’s, the need to teach healthy habits, especially to youth, is critical. One mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of America is to teach youth how to lead a healthy life.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa by helping them to assess and enhance their healthy & wellness program known as Triple Play.

Triple Play is a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle that aim to incorporate the body, mind, and soul.

Its three goals are to:

Improve Club members’ knowledge of healthy habits, good nutrition and physical fitness
Increase the number of hours per day they participate in physical activities
Strengthen their ability to interact positively with others and engage in healthy relationships"

Throughout the fellowship, Joie met with staff across all five Des Moines area Club sites, youth, and Club leadership to develop surveys that would assess what was working, not working, and could be improved about Triple Play program to best serve Des Moines youth. She compiled her findings into a report and made programmatic recommendations to tailor the program in an effort to increase consistency and impact across the organization.

Want to hear more from Joie? Read about her exploration of food scarcity in Central Iowa and the middle school youth swim program she piloted.