The College of Health and Human Services celebrates a successful year for the UCAN program
The UCAN program, or University Coaching for Activity and Nutrition, out of the Department of Health Sciences, provides NAU students, staff, and faulty with individual health coaching to assist in making lifestyle changes to accomplish health goals. Coaching services include providing guidance on healthy eating, body positivity, meal planning, and stress management. In the 2025-2026 academic year, UCAN served 230 clientsand held 502 health coaching sessions, aiding fellow Lumberjacks and providing career ready professional development experiences for their 19 student health coaches.
Many students utilized the resources provided by the UCAN program, with 96% saying they were satisfied with their care. One student even commented on their time receiving coaching services in the program, “I loved how open and nice it was talking to someone about wanting to make a change, it was very motivational to want to come to these meetings/ sessions to talk about my positive progress.”
The UCAN program extended its reach this past year as they engaged in classroom collaborations within CHHS and piloted their first satellite health coaching program with the employees of Elk Ridge Community Health. UCAN not only extended their student outreach through collaborations with HS-200 (Healthy Lifestyles) and NTS-135 (Human Nutrition) classes but had the opportunity of serving the HS-403c capstone courses as a public health/nutrition intervention site.
The University Coaching for Activity and Nutrition program gives thanks to their core faculty team for making it all possible: Directors Nikole Squires, Megan Meyer, and Dr. Natalie Papini.
Contributed by: Emma Johnson
