The Universities of Wisconsin Health and Wellness Management program continued its webinar series in a session hosted by Emily Moenck, a successful health and wellness manager at the innovative air quality company Aprilaire.
Emily offered insight and advice on how to make the most of a wellness career. This is the third of three blogs recapping her webinar.
Here are the first and second parts.
Step Three: Settling In to a Health and Wellness Career
With additional credentials and multiple years’ experience under her belt, Emily has reached the stage in her career where she can balance her career and home life. When the travel obligations became too taxing, she jumped at an opportunity with Aprilaire that was more compatible with her lifestyle.
As health and wellness manager, Emily uses all the skills and knowledge she’s gained throughout each stage in her career. She collaborates closely with human resources and organization leadership to develop and implement company-wide wellness promotion strategies. While her role requires stronger project management experience, it still incorporates the direct connection with the employees that she recognizes as her driving passion.
Because Aprilaire has a true culture of wellness, she now not only focuses on her employees, but also on their families. Emily is most proud of her Health Matters Initiative. She partnered directly with high-level management on the initiative rollout, and it’s been very successful in inspiring employees to evaluate and make necessary changes in their health habits.
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Lessons Learned:
- Seek out organizations that understand wellness is a company-wide initiative, not just one person’s job. These are the companies that want to use wellness to leverage both employee health and the vitality of the organization as a whole.
- Share resources and collaborate! Through her various roles, Emily has made numerous connections in the field and realized that many professionals share the same issues and frustrations. It’s a very collaborative field, and if you look, you’ll likely find someone to help you solve those issues. She recommends joining LinkedIn groups, as well as becoming a member of national organizations that have annual conferences for networking.
- It’s a niche field—for better or worse, paths will cross again and again. Try to make it for better.
Emily is an excellent example of a successful wellness professional. She has a strong basis in education, she took the time to pinpoint her goals and preferences, and many years in, she’s still passionate about her work. She hopes the lessons she’s learned will help you reach your goals as well!
If you’re ready to turn your passion for wellness into a healthy career in the fast-growing field of health and wellness management, call 608-800-6762 or email learn@uwex.wisconsin.edu today to speak with an enrollment adviser; they can answer any questions you have about the UW Health and Wellness Management program.
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