The SHWV Festival is a statewide intergenerational community-based health and wellness festival that brings together youth, seniors and families. The goal of the event is to advance health equity and improve positive public health outcomes in Black and Brown communities in New Jersey by providing participants with ready access to healthcare and community resources within a culturally relevant, festival-like atmosphere. The festival was created and is hosted by (CCC), a non-profit organization whose mission is to collaborate with underserved communities, service providers, and thought leaders on effective solutions to advance health equity and improve positive public health outcomes.聽

College for Community Health and University staff and students volunteered their time on Saturday, September 21st to share resources, offer services, and connect with the Newark community. The following departments participated in this community initiative:

• Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders: Audiology doctoral students provided education on noise exposure and safe listening practices by using a mannequin equipped with a sound level meter and providing an interactive demonstration. They also gave out hearing protection for attendees!聽
• Department of Kinesiology: Attendees were able to get their strength, body composition, and blood pressure tested for free. These services were provided by Nathalie Pfeifer and students from her Physiology of Exercise class.
• Department of Nutrition and Food Studies: While the adults were visiting our other tables, Jane Pilanski and her Dietetics students offered interactive games for children to learn about good nutrition, food shopping, and how to build a balanced meal.
• Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships: Colleagues from the President鈥檚 Office were connecting聽with other community organizations to discuss opportunities for Montclair students as well as faculty and staff to get more involved in local communities.聽
• Rocky the Red Hawk: Rocky was the star of the show taking pictures with families, dancing to live music, and encouraging Newark residents to check out the services we were offering.聽
• Undergraduate Admissions: Future Red Hawks had the opportunity to learn more about Montclair鈥檚 program offerings, application process, and student life from an Admissions Counselor.聽

Ayanna Brantley and David Mata, both Kinesiology students, discuss test results with a festival attendee. (Photo by John LaRosa)

Andrea Uguna, Dietetics student, shows a young festival attendee how to make a food shopping list. (Photo by John LaRosa)

Other offerings and highlights from the festival included clinical screenings, family activities, access to health insurance, a carnival, live music and performances, giveaways, and health education panels and workshops led by experts in nutrition, mental health, fitness, and other health-related fields. With a focus on overall well-being, the SHWV festival also provided residents with invaluable opportunities like:

• Free eye exams and glasses for the first 100 children
• Free haircuts for all ages
• A farmer’s market providing healthy food options and free bags of fresh produce
• Free lunch for the first 600 attendees
• A mobile health unit providing free mammography exams聽
• A mobile unit from the Motor Vehicle Commision offering full services to residents聽

The festival was made accessible to all Newark residents, specifically senior citizens who were bussed in and brought directly to the entrance of the park by Newark Department of Senior Services. This event was possible because of the time and commitment from community leaders, local government, and organizations with a mission to serve. The College for Community Health is honored to have participated as an event sponsor and looks forward to furthering our partnership with CCC.

Among the attendees were outstanding students from Montclair, including Karla Gallardo, Nicole Rodriguez Ortiz, Melvin Rodriguez, Citlaly Hernandez, Ivana Culic, Edwin Luna Gonzalez, Fabricio Justiniano, and Oriannys Infante. These students, under the mentorship of faculty members from the College of Science and Mathematics and the College for Community Health, presented their research projects with polish and enthusiasm.

The HSI Scholars Program supports students who are committed to diminishing health inequities in Latino communities. The program invests in aspiring Hispanic researchers and health care professionals, specifically undergraduate students enrolled in biomedical and health sciences at HSIs, by offering academic and career-enriching experiences for a full academic year. With the support of the American Heart Association as well as committed and impactful mentors, HSI Scholars learn about health disparities in Hispanic communities, how cultural sensitivity can provide safe and reassuring clinical spaces, and how inclusivity is essential in science. Students accepted into the program also have the opportunity to engage in a virtual leadership and professional development series to enhance critical skills to position them for success beyond graduation.

HSIs serve Hispanic students by promoting a racially diverse student body, fostering a positive environment on campus, and providing services focused on helping Hispanic students. These institutions also contribute significantly to preparing a diverse workforce. 糖心vlog has proudly been recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016.

Dr. Luis Torres, Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Physical Education, is serving as Ivana鈥檚 mentor through the year-long program. The American Heart Association credits their mentors with being the backbone of the HSI Scholars Program. The early exposure to research labs and partnerships with professional mentors will help shape the next generation of Latino biomedical science and health care professionals.

Michael Perlet, recent graduate of the Exercise Science and Sport Studies master鈥檚 program, received two prestigious awards at the event in relation to his presentation, 鈥淢icrovascular Reactivity During a Vascular Occlusion Test Following Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise.鈥� Michael鈥檚 abstract won first place in the master鈥檚 award section, moving him onward to the President鈥檚 Cup Competition, which judges all master鈥檚 and PhD students who receive awards. Michael won this additional competition, establishing his presentation as the best of any bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚, or PhD student at the conference.

Winning the President鈥檚 Cup Competition will provide Michael with funding to attend the national conference, held in Boston, Massachusetts, early next year. There he will have the opportunity to present his project in competition against all other regional award winners. He is the first Montclair student or alumni to win this award and the College for Community Health is extremely proud of his work and dedication.

Lauren Miller-Mendon莽a, an undergraduate student in the Exercise Science program, also attended the conference to present her poster titled, 鈥淗eart Rate Variability Following Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise and Traditional Resistance Exercise.鈥� Lauren鈥檚 presentation won the Institutional Undergraduate Award Representative from 糖心vlog.

Additionally, Dr. Peter Hosick, Associate Professor, was elected as Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter. He will serve in this position through November 2025.

Congratulations to Dr. Hosick, Lauren Miller-Menodca and Michael Perlet!

Ignore them 鈥� regular overindulgence over a period of weeks or months can indeed affect weight and body fat, but聽Evan Matthews, associate professor of Exercise Science and Physical Education, says overeating during a single meal won鈥檛 impact your body in a significant way.

Instead, make a plan to stay active throughout the winter 鈥� not just when you feel 鈥済uilty鈥� for having a few too many glasses of eggnog. Here, Matthews shares tips on maintaining consistent physical activity during the colder months to balance out the big dinners, toasts and holiday treats.

How to exercise safely during winter

• Safety first! When exercising outside, be sure to dress in layers. Remove one layer at a time as you feel hot 鈥� the goal is to be warm, but to avoid excessive sweating, which can increase the likelihood of hypothermia.
• Avoid early morning or late evening workouts on cold days. This will allow you to exercise when the temperature is near the highest it will be during the day. Also attempt to avoid inclement weather like rain, snow and strong wind.
• Follow safety protocols. Consider local and current COVID-19 guidelines before deciding to exercise indoors around other people.

Simple ways to exercise

• Work out at home. Investing in at-home exercise equipment will reduce the barriers to exercise associated with the 鈥渘eed to go to the gym鈥� mentality.
• No equipment? No problem. Cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise can include walking, running and bodyweight calisthenics.

Customize your workout plan

• Find an exercise buddy. Develop in-person or virtual social relationships around your exercise habits to promote exercise adherence.
• Schedule it into your existing routine instead of rearranging your entire life around exercise. Adults should accumulate 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity cardiorespiratory exercise per week. 鈥淐ardiorespiratory exercise can be broken up throughout the day into 10-minute chunks rather than all at once,鈥� says Matthews. 鈥淭his makes it easier to get your walking and other forms of exercise in during short breaks throughout the day.鈥�

Focus on the benefits of exercise to stay motivated

• Good for the body鈥� 鈥淓xercise is well known to improve physical health outcomes, including reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat and insulin resistance. These all decrease the likelihood or severity of many cardiometabolic diseases,鈥� says Matthews.
• 鈥nd the mind. Studies strongly suggest that exercise can 鈥渞educe anxiety and depression in everyone regardless of the severity of your symptoms,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n fact, cardiorespiratory exercise has proven to be as effective as psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy in treating depression. Exercise can also be used in conjunction with other mental health treatments to improve anxiety and depression, including conditions like seasonal affective disorder.鈥�

Make exercise a year-round activity

Matthews鈥� tips for creating an active routine of cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise can be maintained all year long. 鈥淭he positive impacts on physical and mental health are greatest with long term exercise adoption,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd some of the most basic forms of exercise can not only help you during the holidays, but help you throughout the year.鈥漈o interview Evan Matthews,聽please contact the Media Relations team.

Dr. Katrina Bulkley, Acting Dean for the College of Education and Human Services, stated, “Dr. Scrabis-Fletcher does so much that is often unseen and it’s great to know that her contributions are being seen by these important members of our community.” Her colleagues echoed this sentiment, saying this “is such a well-deserved acknowledgment and the athletic community values all that she does,” and shared words of celebratory congratulations.

Dr. Scrabis-Fletcher specializes in socio-cognitive factors impacting student experience in physical education and teacher preparation in interdisciplinary teaching, technology, and assessment.

Booker shared not only how Gilbert鈥檚 hotline motivated him when he was applying for a Rhodes Scholarship in 1992 but also the hotline number, 973-743-4690. The then-Stanford student did indeed become a Rhodes Scholar. Fast forward 30 years and Booker, who took a lesson from Gilbert, also started sharing motivational messages to his mentees, family and followers via social media. On Sunday, August 14, Booker called the Success Hotline and 鈥渓o and behold, I hear the message,鈥� he shared with his almost 1.3 million combined TikTok and Instagram followers.

Every day for 30 years, Gilbert, a public speaker, author and motivational and sports coach, has recorded a three-minute motivational message for his legions of callers from across the globe. On this particular August day, he recorded message number 11,500.

Many commenters on Booker鈥檚 TikTok post mentioned calling the hotline and being grateful for now having Booker and Gilbert to motivate them.

鈥淚鈥檓 an adjunct and now inspired! He is still there. I love that you are too,鈥� wrote commenter and Montclair Social Work and Child Advocacy Adjunct Professor Sara E. Every on TikTok.

Janice, another of Booker鈥檚 TikTok followers wrote: 鈥淭his is a wonderful story and it鈥檚 amazing that the hot line is still there. I鈥檓 grateful to him for inspiring you to pay it forward & to inspire us!鈥�

Even Booker鈥檚 friend and ex-girlfriend actress Rosario Dawson chimed in on Instagram: 鈥淗ow wonderful! Loving the podcast!鈥� (Yes, there鈥檚 also聽, courtesy of Ironclad.)

鈥淵ou just blew up his line!! I鈥檓 calling too!!鈥� Angie Murcia Stephen wrote on TikTok.

Gilbert could attest to that. 鈥淪unday, I had hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of people calling, all from Cory Booker,鈥� Gilbert says, adding that they left messages. 鈥淭hey are the sweetest, kindest people.鈥�

After 30 years, Gilbert, who has taught at Montclair for 43 years, knows when someone has shared the number, as he sees spikes in call volume. One Texas athletic director who is a motivational speaker always boosts the number of calls after a speaking engagement. Gilbert鈥檚 success has all been word of mouth 鈥� and now via social media.

What prompted this extreme exercise in consistency? Before he started teaching sports psychology at Montclair, Gilbert was a high school wrestling coach and would see his students five to seven days a week.

鈥淚鈥檓 teaching graduate students, many of them coaches, and I only see them once a week. It really doesn鈥檛 make sense because graduate school is much more important than high school wrestling,鈥� Gilbert recalls thinking to himself. As a way to 鈥渂e鈥� with his grad students seven days a week, he purchased a phone system that allowed him to leave a three-minute recording and also collect messages from the students.

He intended to do it only for the spring semester, which would have been roughly 100 messages 鈥渏ust as an experiment.鈥�

Today, the Success Hotline has built a loyal following, including some celebrities who have sworn him to secrecy. 鈥淚 never know who鈥檚 going to call. Yesterday, Cory Booker called me. I have Olympic champions calling me. I have pro athletes call me. I have all these people that I would never know if I didn鈥檛 have my hotline,鈥� Gilbert says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been getting thousands of calls, and I have eight lines.鈥�

Many listeners have been calling the hotline daily for decades. Among his loyalists is Richard Kennedy 鈥�89, a former student who now works for a law firm. Kennedy, who earned his degree in political science, took two of Gilbert鈥檚 classes as electives but says that he would have taken them even if he didn鈥檛 get credit.

鈥淚 listen to it every day. It鈥檚 three minutes,鈥� Kennedy says. 鈥淭he best part is it鈥檚 free. He puts a message out just to try to make your day every day religiously.

鈥淗e teaches you how you should study, how you can memorize, how to motivate yourself,鈥� Kennedy says. 鈥淗e teaches you how to succeed.鈥�

Bonnie Gechtberg, another longtime follower, has called every day since her son Mark came home from Gilbert鈥檚 class and told her about the new hotline. The 87-year-old says she told her son she didn鈥檛 have time for that but he insisted. 鈥淚 listened to the first message, and I was hooked. I became addicted,鈥� says Gechtberg, who lives in Cranford, New Jersey, but has called from other states, as well as Mexico and Canada to get her fix.

Like Booker, who ended his message with: 鈥淚 just want to say, Dr. Rob Gilbert, thank you for making a difference in my life,鈥� Gechtberg says he鈥檚 changed her life. 鈥淗is messages are so inspirational and there鈥檚 nothing else like Dr. Gilbert鈥檚 messages. His messages make my life better and make me a better person.鈥�

The state that boasts the highest number of devotees is Texas, Gilbert says, adding that he counts many Texas football coaches among his callers.

Michael Baldwin, a senior account executive with commodities firm U.S. Gold Bureau in Austin, has been calling every day for years and is impressed by Gilbert鈥檚 鈥渋mpressive track record.鈥�

A former employee of U.S. Gold, Callon Ihde, introduced colleagues to the hotline. Today, 50-60 people begin their day with Gilbert鈥檚 words, Baldwin says. 鈥淭he positive affirmational talks that he offers are a great way to start our day off. It gets your mind working in the right direction.鈥�

Like his fans, Gilbert is relentless in his dedication. He has recorded the messages from hospitals before and after medical procedures. He鈥檚 recorded it while outdoors in freezing temperatures in Vermont. 鈥淚鈥檝e never ever missed a day,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 had thousands of people calling from all over the world. I wasn鈥檛 expecting that! It鈥檚 been a whole lot of fun, so I鈥檝e never stopped since January 22, 1992.

In three decades, there鈥檚 been only one glitch: Side effects from a shingles vaccine delayed his daily recording until 5 p.m.; he usually records it at 7:30 a.m. While Gilbert says he鈥檚 not a perfectionist, he does admit doing several takes. Sometimes, magic happens and he records his message in one take. Gilbert makes no money off of the hotline or podcast.

鈥淚 mean, I鈥檓 a teacher,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd what I want to do is to spread good information.鈥�

Story by Staff Writer聽Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by University Photographer聽Mike Peters.

鈥淢ike Fratello鈥檚 accomplishments are well documented, both as a coach and a broadcaster,鈥� said Indiana Pacers Head Coach and National Basketball Coaches Association President Rick Carlisle. 鈥淪ixteen years as an NBA Head Coach, 647 regular-season wins, NBA Coach of the Year honors, Head Coach of the Ukraine National Team, and multiple Emmys all combine to represent a lifetime devoted to basketball. Congratulations to Mike on the 2022 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.鈥�

鈥淐huck Daly was a special man and a special coach 鈥� and this is a special award,鈥� said Mike Fratello. 鈥淚t means so much to me because Chuck was a mentor, a close friend, and a trusted confidant during my NBA coaching career and beyond. It is an honor to be recognized by my peers, whom I respect and admire. I am proud to join the ranks of the previous recipients 鈥� all exceptional coaches and extraordinary individuals.”

The conference included professional speakers, a fitness walk through Rider University’s new fitness trail, student poster presentations, and Rider’s Science Friday presentation.

Dr. Hosick is a physiologist whose research focuses on metabolic and cardiovascular responses to various stressors, exercise being one primary example. Much of his current research involves the assessment of cardiovascular fitness (VO2max), body composition, and endocrine response to some sort of physical activity or exercise. He also supports student research projects and has several ongoing projects to explore the metabolic, endocrine, and cardiovascular adjustments in response to physiological perturbations in normal and overweight individuals.