From May 5–25, nearly 200 faculty and staff joined together for SMU’s first-ever Wellness Challenge — with 194 total participants, including 24 registered teams and many individuals tracking their own progress. Each week brought new wellness activities across themes like mindfulness, movement, nutrition, social connection, and personal reflection.
The goal? To build healthy habits and spark conversation…and it worked. Across departments and campuses, people talked about wellness, encouraged each other, and brought energy and humour to the challenge. That kind of momentum strengthens our culture and shows how wellness can be woven into daily life at SMU.
Thank you to all who participated. Whether you joined solo, as a team, or just dipped your toes into a few activities, your participation helped foster a more connected and mindful SMU community.
And now, a round applause for our challenge winners!
Overall Individual Winner
Congratulations go to overall individual winner Meg Ternes! Fantastic job and thank you for your participation!
Overall Team Winner
Kudos to the members of “It’s All Good”, Roberta Graham, Pat Farmer, Navjot Singh, Angela Dunn, and Dennis Gillis! Consistency, determination, and maybe just a hint of friendly peer pressure carried this team to the top. They led from the start and clearly had a formula that worked. Whatever the magic was, it paid off—congrats on an impressive finish!
Second PlaceTeam
A big congratulations to Enrolment Services Team 1: Courtney Deveaux, Elizabeth Daniels, Heather Harroun, Jayme Sabarots, and Melanie MacKenzie! We’re especially glad to recognize this group, not only for their great scores but also as part of the larger Enrolment Services team—one of the most engaged departments in the entire challenge.
We’re excited to learn from and build on this success and hope to bring the challenge back in the future, alongside more wellness programming. Thank you to everyone who joined, supported a team, or cheered from the sidelines — your engagement helps shape a healthier, more connected campus.