As part of a new segment for the Wellness Champion newsletter, each month we will highlight a Wellness Connection team member. To kick us off, we’ll spotlight Emily Page, MS, our fearless leader and the Sr. Manager for Wellness & Benefits Projects.
Tell us a little about yourself. What drew you to this line of work?
My career in health promotion started with my own personal health journey. In the final weeks of my senior year at Missouri State University (back then SMSU), I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and saw my future plans shift dramatically. I was able to graduate and, fortunately, the chemotherapy put the leukemia in remission fairly quickly. However, my future was uncertain given that my undergraduate training had prepared me for a professional dance career. I lacked the strength to follow that path and had to make some quick decisions. I was alerted to a new graduate program focused on health promotion and wellness management that seemed like a good fit for me, given everything I had just experienced. I had learned how fragile my health could be…but also how resilient my spirit was when buoyed by my family, friends, and health care team. I found purpose in this work early on at Rice University as director of their wellness center. My message of self-care to college students who sometimes saw themselves as invincible had credibility because I used to think that way too. Now as I’ve become a partner and parent, I continue to see the importance of taking care of my physical and emotional health. I have again been fortunate to be able to align my work in Human Resources at WashU with my personal values and goals.
What kind of hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with my family being active, especially outdoors. As a partner to an Eagle Scout and parent to a newly minted Boy Scout, there is much camping and hiking in my life! I’m also helping to coach my son’s baseball team, which is always more of a workout than I expect. I haven’t been in the dance studio in many years, but I would like to do that again one day.
To learn more about the Wellness Connection mission and team, visit: hr.wustl.edu/people/wellness-connection-experts/.
