New student organization focuses on the importance of health

Eagles Health Initiative, a new organization on campus, is aiming to educate students about the importance of physical, mental and spiritual health.

Jackson Higginbottom, Oklahoma Christian University junior and president of Eagles Health Initiative, developed the organization at the beginning of the 2015 fall semester.

“I got the idea for this organization by working in free clinics in Oklahoma City, and I saw many preventative diseases in the clinics there, but the patients did not have the resources to prevent the diseases,” Higginbottom said. “We’re at a university that has plenty of resources, and I see some of the same problems here at OC, so I felt it would be a great way to bring students from across different majors to work on the same problems.”

Eagles Health Initiative participates in a variety of activities, many including service projects. This semester Eagles Health Initiative volunteered at Wings, the special needs community located by campus, by filling pumpkin plots for its fall program.

Eagles Health Initiative also helped give 150 free physicals to a local middle school through Lighthouse Ministries Medical Clinic.

Besides service projects, Eagles Health Initiative developed other programs such as Take Initiative — a series of discussions concerning health-related issues — the What Matters five-week Bible study, and they will be introducing a new event called Noteworthy in early December to raise money for American Red Cross.

Dean of Natural Health and Sciences Jeff McCormack is one of the faculty sponsors for Eagles Health Initiative and said two of the biggest reasons he became involved with the program are because of their mission and the students involved.

“They have done so well forming a holistic approach to serving the community,” McCormack said.

 Eagles Health Initiative is not exclusive to those studying health sciences and is open to Oklahoma Christian students of all majors.

“Health in general is something that everyone should know about, and many students on campus are interested in health,” Higginbottom said. “We’re not wanting it to just be students in health-related majors. We want people who just want to improve themselves – improve their own health.”

McCormack said Eagles Health Initiative could be beneficial to students because it focuses on helping those around them.

 “This organization helps students identify the needs of other individuals around them,” McCormack said. “It opens the eyes of students to see the needs of others on campus.”

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