On April 1, the Parent Teacher Student Association held the Health Fair in the gym in an effort to raise awareness regarding health issues and to allow students to explore various medical fields.

The fair featured booths set up by a wide variety of organizations and representatives. Using records from previous booths, Health Fair coordinator May To selected a group of topics that were more likely to interest students. “There were booths regarding dental, vision and nutrition issues, as well as booths run by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the Palo Alto Police Department and Planned Parenthood,” To said.

Using science fair project styled presentations, brochures, video clips and free samples, each booth tried to demonstrate the effects of certain actions on the body or give suggestions on preventing certain diseases. “There were physicians, dentists, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, counselors and therapists present,” To said. “The students were able to find out more about issues they were interested in or even consider them as career options for the future.”

Though the booths covered a variety of topics, an emphasis was placed on the theme of healthy living during the teenage years. “Teenagers are still growing, and this is the best time for such an event to be held because they may not have the opportunity later on in life, such as during college,” To said. Colleen Haesloop, who helped run the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital adolescent health and safety booth, agreed that the teenage years are crucial for healthy living. “What you put into your body [at this time] is important,” she said. “If you live healthy now, it really helps in the long run.” Haesloop focused on answering questions regarding eating disorders, nutrition, exercise and reproductive health.

Melissa Ta, who ran the American Cancer Society booth, offered tips for cancer prevention and felt that the knowledge offered at the fair was invaluable. “The more knowledge you have, the more power you have,” she said. “If you don’t have enough knowledge, you don’t know what to expect, or where to turn to.”

The police booth took a more interactive approach by demonstrating the effects of driving impairment on coordination ability. “They gave us ‘drunk goggles’ and had us walk on a line,” sophomore Gayan Seneviratna said. “It felt like I had taken off my glasses and spun around three times.”

While the booths focused on educating the students, the adults running the booths also used the fair as an opportunity to learn more about the students. “I ran the nutrition booth and was able to find out more about how much the students knew about eating healthy,” To said. “This helps me in planning the booths in future Health Fairs because I’ll know more about what students tend to know and what they need to know more about.” Police officer Brad Kilpatrick also used the opportunity to assess student attitudes. “[The fair] gave us the opportunity to get to know more about the students and we were able to help point them in a certain direction,” Killpatrick said. 

According to sophomore Sylvia Zhang, the Health Fair was a positive experience. “I think it’s a good place to be exposed to,” she said. “It was very interactive, and I felt that the people were interested, especially in the freebies.” To agreed and noted that “the students were also very enthusiastic and receptive.”

However, some felt that most of the knowledge presented at the fair was previously known. “Most students have already taken Living Skills, so people really just came to get out of class and for the free stuff,” Seneviratna said. Of the police booth, he also noted that the experience was “more a game than a drinking deterrent.”

However, To said the future of the Health Fair is still promising. “The theme and format [of a future fair] would be the same,” To said. “I’m hoping that the event will be continued in 2 years.”