Winona’s Healthy Habits with Diana Tapia-Alvarado

My name is Diana and I’m double majoring in Social Work and Spanish at Winona State. From a very young age, I’ve been very passionate about helping people. Being a first-generation student, coming from a Latino background; I wanted to utilize my linguistic ability to help others in the medical setting. My field is all about restoring balance in an individual’s personal, family, and social life. Providing additional support to help maintain or recover his/her health and strengthen his/her ability to adapt and reintegrate into society.

2. What are you currently doing in your studies?
I’m currently interning for Winona Health for the Food as Medicine study; As the enrollment specialist, I will be assisting participants on the phone and walking them through the program. We have been working on a lot of behind the scene work to make sure that we hit any potential roadblocks along the way. For example, this includes screening for food insecurity and food program eligibility to ensure participants have access to those benefits as needed.

3. Tell me something interesting or notable about what you do/your position.
One notable thing about my position is having the ability to build connections. Communication is an important component in my line of work. It’s important to create a safe place where people can vocalize any kind of need. From a social work perspective, social workers aim to help individuals connect with needed resources to improve their lives. Helping others is not only a good thing to do, it also makes the world a happier and healthier place to live. The great thing about building connections is creating avenues for a stronger community for a better society to be a part of.

4. What is your favorite part about living in Winona?
Even though it is a smaller town, Winona has so many things to offer to its people. It doesn’t matter what season we’re in, there’s always something fun to do with friends and family. I love how interconnected and collective Winona is. The biggest thing for me has been recreational tourism, Winona offers a lot of beauty, nature, character, and a safe place for folks to have a good time.

5. How have you been staying active in the winter months?
I like to keep myself busy; in my free time, I enjoy connecting with friends at the Wabasha Recreation Center. I enjoy rock climbing and bouldering. Indoor rock climbing uses virtually every major muscle group in your body, making it a great whole-body alternative to pumping iron at the gym. I’m also a part of the Winona State Women’s Rugby team. Rugby is a character-building sport. It encourages courage, strength, value, and respect which all play a part in boosting female self-confidence. Explosive power is essential in the game of rugby adding in the cardio, agility, and strength elements.

6. What are some of your healthy habits?
I like practicing healthy habits by taking care of my body spiritually, mentally, and physically. I always stress the importance of individuals being kind to themselves – using self-compassion – when faced with setbacks and challenges in self-care as a key ingredient for creating sustainable behavior. Self-efficacy is the extent of one’s belief in one’s own ability to complete tasks and reach goals. Self-efficacy plays a critical role in how people think, feel, and behave. It’s important to replace a bad practice with a good one and have other strategies in place to help you make the change. I always like to remind myself to take things one step at a time. Always congratulate yourself on the small and big victories.