N.C. A&T School of Nursing to Host Seventh Annual Diabetes Awareness Walk

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Nov. 14, 2019) – The School of Nursing at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s College of Health and Human Sciences will host its Diabetes Awareness Walk on Thursday, Nov. 14.

The annual event, now in its seventh year, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Noble Hall lawn on University Circle and surrounding parts of campus. In case of inclement weather, it will be at the Campus Recreation Center, 201 N. Benbow Road.

“The School of Nursing is promoting a diabetes-informed campus community by raising awareness of diabetes and its devastating effects,” said Marychristiana Uzochukwu, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing and chair of the event. “In addition to walking, vendors will conduct different health screenings and share valuable information that promote and sustain healthy lifestyle.”

The goal of this year’s walk is to collect $500 for the American Diabetes Association. To date, $560 has been raised.

“Our team is supporting the American Diabetes Association in fundraising because we want to make a difference, we want to lead, we want to inspire, we want to empower, and we want a cure,” said Uzochukwu.

The School of Nursing established the Diabetes Awareness Walk in November 2013 to meet two of the school’s specific program goals: “contribute to the health of our community, state, regional, global societies through community engagement activities and serve as catalyst with diverse teams for creative and collaborative strategies to address local, regional, national and global health priorities,” Uzochukwu said.

The event has grown every year since then to include health screenings and partnerships with health resources in the community.

The 2018 walk had 100 participants, each of whom completed a diabetes risk assessment, Uzochukwu said. COAACH and the Student Health Center were on hand again to provide health promotion materials and information on their services to the university.

“We are directly helping to stop diabetes with the walk,” said Uzochukwu, “and all participants benefit from the wealth of health promotion materials we provide for general well-being.”