Passion Takes You Places
As I am writing this, I am in my third week at the MVME Wellness community rotation and Julian Varela is my preceptor here. Julian is the founder and CEO of MVME Wellness, a corporate wellness company. I am having an incredible time and learning so much. Next week is my last week here and I cannot believe how fast time has passed. In this blog post, I am going to highlight details about Julian’s career path and his contributions to the world of wellness.
Meet Julian
Julian has a two-decade long history in the field of wellness. He is a man who wears multiple hats. He runs his company, MVME Wellness, teaches psychology at Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, and runs a private practice as a marriage and family therapist in SLO. He completed his bachelor's in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine and went on to do his master's in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. It was during this time he gravitated towards disease prevention and community health. He went on to get another master’s in clinical psychology as he realized the importance of mental health and how it can impact our physical health. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs and always envisioned having his own company. That’s how he started MVME Wellness in 2012. As a corporate wellness company, MVME oversees employee wellness through programs and strategies by increasing employee engagement and motivation. Julian is so passionate about entrepreneurship and health; he continuously strives to connect the two.
The World of Corporate Wellness
Julian recognizes the importance of nutrition and designs the programs for employees keeping nutrition as the center. He mentors interns and exposes them to the field of corporate wellness, which was of particular interest to me. One of my classes in community nutrition had a lecture on corporate and employee wellness and since then I have been interested and was keen on learning more. We tend to have this divided world where health and work don’t get along. We tend to push health at the end of the priority list. The idea that a workplace gives importance to employee health and empowers them to take health in their own hands and in turn improve productivity was really inspiring to me. That is why when I had the chance to rotate at this corporate wellness site for my internship, I took it.
I have been learning so much – how employee challenges work, how content is created and presented to employees, and how companies work. MVME creates various challenges for companies to help employees meet their health goals. This month I worked on Sugar Free(dom) challenge – a challenge that helps employees reduce their sugar intake. A challenge typically consists of answering daily questions, logging one’s intake, and receiving reminders and tips/tricks to help navigate particular health goals. Julian has been very supportive throughout this rotation and I am so grateful for the experience.
Seeing Julian’s career path is so inspiring and full of passion: a passion to help others create a healthier life for themselves. I envision for myself a similar path, full of passion and energy to help others achieve their health and fitness goals. Whatever field you might be interested in, be it clinical, community, or corporate wellness, bring your passion along in your backpack because passion takes you places.
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