Oakland University’s alumnus, Xixi Flores, is one of seven initiators of the new Impact Nutrition Club, located on the corner of Sashabaw and Waldon Road in Clarkston, 10-15 minutes away from campus.

Friday, September 14, 2014, was the club’s first visit to OU to speak with students about nutrition and bring awareness.

“It’s really an open space for people to work out for free,” Flores said. “We have free zumba classes, cardio drumming, nutrition classes and wellness profiles.”   

The club hosts healthy lifestyle events that occur four times per week.

“Four nutrition clubs closed in different cities and seven of us came together to create a new one,” Flores said. “We want to especially help younger students become healthier.”

Flores graduated from OU in 2005.

“When I first became a college student, I never really knew how my nutrition habits affected my attentiveness in class, energy level and study habits.”

As the Impact Nutrition Club spoke with students on Friday, most of them were interested.

Students discussed what it means to them to be health conscious.

Eddie Rayborn, senior at OU, said that, for him, fitness means lifestyle.

“Coming into school I was interested in being health conscious because one of my parents has hypertension, and the other has heart disease,” Rayborn said.

“When I went to the doctor and had a physical, I found out how important it was for me to take care of my body and how these health issues could affect my health.”

Rayborn added that he started to work out more, eating more fruits, vegetables, lessened going out to eat as much and also began to check ingredients on the foods he ate.    

“I got quite a bit of students who were interested and would like to know more about nutrition,” Flores said. “A lot of OU students love to work out.”

OU student, David McCray, shared some of his health habits.

“I won’t eat the entire day and I’d eat unhealthy foods before I go to sleep,” McCray said. “However, I don’t eat pork and I juice once a month for a week.”

Flores stated that the target is to bring more awareness of fitness to students so that when they graduate and start families, it’ll make an impact for future generations.

“The one thing I could do better for my health would be to keep up on exercise,” said junior Brianna Sosnowski. “It’s hard as a college student to make time for it because I’m in school, working and studying all the time.  

“More fitness classes on campus would help students because this is where we spend most of our time and on breaks we could join,” she said.

“I would love to bring these free events to OU, if permitted,” Flores said. “It would create a positive environment for students and even staff.”

For more information you may contact Xixi Flores at (248) 894-2316 or [email protected]