Linda Amos has been active in the employee wellness community for a long time. As a team captain for the Tread the Med and then WashU Moves activity challenges, Linda recruits many colleagues to join her team and incorporate movement into their daily lives. When Wellness Connection expanded the Champion network to the Med School Campus in 2017, Linda volunteered.
She continues to be an active Wellness Champion, maintaining a Wellness Connection sponsored bulletin board and communicating events and programs to her colleagues. Linda sends motivational emails to her colleagues, Healthy Notes, encouraging them to participate in campus events and promoting a culture of health and wellness in her work environment. She does a great job of including her supervisor in these conversations, to help personalize wellness for their department. Recently, Linda has taken on a leadership role within the network and is helping Wellness Connection recruit and retain Champions, making the Champion volunteer role a fun and worthwhile experience.
Linda’s wellness journey
“For years health and fitness were just words with no meaning to me; exercise was something I avoided. Eating was not just for sustenance but an activity to combat boredom, frustration, loneliness, you name it!
Then one day I stepped on the bathroom scale and was shocked at the very large number it registered. Something inside me said, “the scale is NOT going any higher!” I worked hard, enlisted the help of a dietitian and physician, and lost over 120 pounds.
Thinking weight loss was all there was to “being healthy”, I went merrily on my way. Then in an ironic twist I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. Once that ordeal was behind me, I knew I had to refocus my efforts on a total healthy lifestyle.
About that time I attended a planning session for the old “Tread the Med” challenge and heard a Danforth Campus employee mention that she was a Wellness Champion. I knew right then and there that I was going to become a Wellness Champion too.
I’ve been obese, I’ve been seriously ill, and I’ve been blessed with another chance. So many people need a cheerleader, someone to encourage them, to give them suggestions, to set an example for them. I want to be that person!”
Thank you Linda, for sharing your story and working to inspire others to make healthy choices.
If you’d like to learn more about the Wellness Connection Champion network, check out our website: https://hr.wustl.edu/wellness-connection/champions/.