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“Strong and Healthy”
Reported by: Ilyssa Weiner
Oswego, N.Y.- With midterms rolling around, busy schedules as well as the winter weather has made things difficult for college students to achieve their desired fitness goals, especially losing the Freshman 15. Enter “Strong and Healthy”, SUNY Oswego’s newest fitness organization devoted to motivating students to not only stay active year round, but to think differently about how they work out.
“Strong and Healthy” Founder and President Autumn Caldwell started the organization in January. She suffered from depression after gaining 20 pounds during her first semester. A year later, Caldwell lost over 25 pounds and regained her confidence.
“I used to hate working out,” Caldwell said. “But working out has made me stronger as a person. Not just physically, but mentally.”
Since launching in January, “Strong and Healthy” has gained the attention of over 150 SUNY Oswego students, including Secretary Erin Clegg, who was unhappy with her skinny body and cardio workout and eventually turned to strength training.
“I really wanted to break the boundary between women and gaining muscle and lifting,” Clegg said.
“When a lot of people think of the word “strong”, they think of muscles and abs and a six pack,” Caldwell explained. “When they think “healthy,.” they think that means you have to be thin. That’s not necessarily the case. Being skinny does not necessarily mean that you’re healthy.”
“Strong and Healthy” will be holding a kick off event on April 22nd. -
ESPN writer Kate Fagan shares inspiration for ‘What Made Maddy Run’
by Kerry Ryan
OSWEGO, N.Y. — On Tuesday, October 10th, the Sheldon Hall Ballroom was filled with members of the oswego community; all waiting to listen to ‘I Am Oz’ speaker and ESPN writer, Kate Fagan. Fagan shared her stories of coming out as a gay woman, working for ESPN, and her inspiration to write the book What Made Maddy Run?. What Made Maddy Run? is the story of University of Pennsylvania freshman track star Madison Holleran, who died by suicide at the age of 19 years old after secretly struggling with anxiety and depression.
Fagan originally wrote Holleran’s story as a piece for ESPN. After receiving numerous emails written by high school and college students, as well as their parents, Fagan said she knew that she needed to dig deeper into the story.
“I realized that we had really only touched on a certain piece of the story in the magazine piece and that there were other roads to travel down to make the story more fleashed out for the rest of the college students and young people who saw themselves in her,” Fagan said.
This isn’t Fagan’s first non-fiction story, however. The Former WNBA player previously released a book retelling the story of her own struggles. The Reappearing Act: Coming Out as Gay on a College Basketball Team Led by Born-Again Christians explains the background of Fagan’s difficulty with her identity and how it would affect her and those around her.
What Made Maddy Run? was an instant New York Times best-seller. This is a first for Fagan, who said she has always wanted to be a writer.
“Basketball was like the pursuit,” Fagan said. “I guess I’ll be a writer when I’m done. And so when i was done playing basketball, that’s when I moved the writing to the front burner.”
Fagan said her next goal is to get some of her fictional work published. She said that, unlike non-fiction, there’s a different way of storytelling in fiction and it allows writers to have more creative freedom.
What Made Maddy Run? by Kate Fagan is available online and in bookstores now.
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High Winds with Scattered Showers
Weather Headlines:
- High Winds and Showers Throughout the Day
- Cooler and Dry Tuesday
- Mild and Calm Wednesday
Clearing skies expected late afternoon tonight accompanied by a drop in temperatures.
Lows Tonight:
- Oswego: 37℉
- Fulton: 36℉
- Syracuse: 36℉
Gusty west winds 30 to 40 mph overnight tonight with gusts up to 55 mph in the evening. Partly cloudy skies on Tuesday with modest west winds 15 to 20 mph.
Highs Tomorrow:
- Oswego: 45℉
- Fulton: 45℉
- Syracuse: 48℉
Cooler with highs in the mid 40s. Slight chance of showers early Wednesday morning with light winds throughout the day 5-10 MPH.
Stay tuned to WTOP10 News for more updates.
