FAMU, Tallahassee Community Jive to Fitness

Florida A&M University danced the community into a dance workout with “Tallahassee’s Largest Zumba Class” led by instructors from Success Athletic Training.

The event- sponsored by Get Fit FAMU and FAMU’s Student National Alumni Association– allowed students, faculty and Tallahassee community members to salsa dance to the beat. Other festivities include free food, t-shirt and prize giveaways, face painting, a bounce house and musical entertainment by FAMU’s ‘Dj Loosekid.’

The Zumba session is the third of seven events Get Fit FAMU will host this semester. Each month the campaign will focus on a different health theme, with October’s theme being breast cancer awareness.

Jacoria Borders, FAMU’s student government association’s surgeon general, created the campaign after seeing a need for better fitness practices in the Tallahassee community. Borders said she is she is extremely pleased with the increase in participation in the program’s events because Get Fit FAMU coordinators are dedicated to providing new, fun ways for the community to stay healthy.

“We really wanted to try something different with each event, and the zumba class was just something new,” Borders said. “I’m excited that we get more and more people every time. This is a community event, so I’m really happy people are starting to come out and participate because this is the Relay for Life Kick-Off.”

Numerous organizations, as well as representatives from various schools and colleges, show their support for the Get Fit FAMU initiative.

Representatives from FAMU’s Student Health Services provide healthy snacks and information about available services. The School of Allied Health students decorate pink bras for participants to wear.

Javon Houston, a senior nursing student from Orlando, Fla., said students in FAMU’s School of Nursing support the Get Fit FAMU initiative by taking people’s blood pressures at all Get Fit FAMU events.

“I think this event, and the whole Get Fit campaign, is good because African-Americans have a tendency to overlook some of these health risks,” Houston said. “That’s why we’re out here checking people’s blood pressure because so many people are unaware of the risks associated with high blood pressure, and we want to promote healthy living in general.”

Jasmine Wilkins, a junior African-American studies student from Apopka, Fla. said she really enjoyed the zumba class and was most impressed by the turnout and participation.

“I like it, I think it’s a really good idea,” Wilkins said. “I feel like the event is very successful because it not only helps with breast cancer awareness, but it gets people active with fitness and everything too. I didn’t expect this many people to come. This was a really fun way of getting everybody together.”