{"id":51960,"date":"2018-06-20T13:20:32","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T17:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=51960"},"modified":"2018-06-20T17:10:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T21:10:00","slug":"wellness-wish-to-reunite-brock-grad-with-grandfather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/06\/wellness-wish-to-reunite-brock-grad-with-grandfather\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellness Wish to reunite Brock grad with grandfather"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even as Katie Desveaux wrote down the words, she didn\u2019t believe they would ever come true. The ask wasn\u2019t simple \u2014 she wanted to travel across the country to be reunited with her grandfather.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her wish was soon granted, although not by a fairy godmother or genie from a magic lamp. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, it was thanks to the efforts of the Brock University Students\u2019 Union (BUSU) and various University Faculties, who made Desveaux\u2019s dream trip come true through the annual Wellness Wishes campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an effort to momentarily take minds off exam season and to ease a little stress, the BUSU-run initiative asks students to write down their wishes in hopes they might come true. It was started in 2016 and has rapidly expanded in the last several years to grant hundreds of wishes to lucky students.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to Desveaux\u2019s trip, wishes granted so far this year include a pair of Converse shoes, hoodies from the Campus Store, a pizza party at Isaac\u2019s Bar and Grill and a yoga membership to Moksha Yoga.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the many asks, Desveaux\u2019s desire to see her 97-year-old grandfather in New Waterford, N.S., stood out. Although her request was big, it was one those running the initiative could not deny.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined that I would get my Wellness Wish granted,\u201d said the 21-year-old recent Sport Management graduate. \u201cI remember writing it down thinking that it would be amazing because I haven\u2019t seen my grandpa in four years. We talk on the phone regularly and FaceTime on birthdays and holidays, but because of work and school I have not been able to visit when my family went out to see him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Desveaux found out that her wish had been granted, her emotions took over.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started crying,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so overjoyed and excited to go see him. He just celebrated his 97th birthday, so I can\u2019t wait to celebrate with him while I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Toronto resident, who will travel to Nova Scotia for the weeklong stay at the end of June, is also looking forward to some of the smaller joys that come with an in-person visit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves going for Tim Hortons and for ice cream,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I\u2019m going to take him to get both.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to outings for some tasty treats, Desveaux hopes to spend time soaking up some of her grandfather\u2019s positive character traits as a way to better herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very driven and always wants the best for everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cHe looks on the positive side of everything and I try to take that into my life as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For BUSU President Aidan Hibma, helping students with both large and small needs is a rewarding experience he\u2019s proud to be a part of. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the opportunity to give back to our community and help our Badgers make it through the year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe believe the little things can truly have a positive impact on our students\u2019 lives and that it is our responsibility to give back to them when we have an opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With her exams now finished, Convocation behind her and a new job as a Brock recruitment officer to come in July, Desveaux is gearing up for her trip east while also reflecting on other ways the University has promoted wellness throughout her academic career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrock has so many great wellness initiatives for students throughout the year and they have helped me in many different ways,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful for this wish and I can\u2019t thank Brock and BUSU enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Wellness Wishes initiative will return next semester, and Hibma hopes it will continue to have the same positive effect on participants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to another year of transforming Wellness Wishes into reality, one act of kindness at a time,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even as Katie Desveaux wrote down the words, she didn\u2019t believe they would ever come true. The ask wasn\u2019t simple \u2014 she wanted to travel across the country to be reunited with her grandfather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":51961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,36,3319,4052,1,4],"tags":[6776,133,6266,2683,6775],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51962,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51960\/revisions\/51962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}