Student wins tickets to Panthers game

A contest during the "Rams Have Heart" project in October gave one lucky Winston-Salem State student a chance to attend a Carolina Panthers game.      

Tazjanne Swinnie, a sophomore Exercise Science major from Rockingham, won two tickets to watch the Carolina Panthers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Charlotte Dec 6.

"Rams Have Heart" was created to inform Winston-Salem State students and the community about heart health. Students who participated in cardiovascular screenings registered for a drawing to win two tickets to see the Carolina Panthers play.

Dr.  Archie Roberts, the founder of Living healthy Partners helped conduct the project..  Equipment for the screenings was provided by the Community Care Center. Ninety-one students were recruited for the project. Of those students, Swinnie was chosen through a drawing as the winner.

"I was shocked when I received the news about winning," Swinnie said. I never win anything."

Swinnie said she heard about the "Rams Have Heart" project through the Honors Program. During a monthly meeting SGA President Whitney McCoy announced that  WSSU was sponsoring the heart drive and that students could receive volunteer hours for participating.

Swinnie said she participated in the project for more than volunteer hours.

"My mother had a heart attack at the age of 38," Swinnie said. "So I wanted to make sure I wasn't at risk."

Swinnie said she and her boyfriend enjoyed everything about the Panthers game. "That was my first NFL game," Swinnie said.

The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-6.

 During her cardiovascular screening, Swinnie said she learned techniques to keep a healthy heart such as good nutrition and exercise.

 "The nurses were trying to teach me how to read the EKG."

 Swinnie said students at WSSU should learn more about cardiovascular health.

"The diet and lack of exercise of a college student is horrible.  The screenings will definitely help them catch and prevent heart problems."

Dr. Vanessa Duren-Winfield, research coordinator and assistant professor in the school of Health and Science, says it is important for college students between the ages of 18-23 to get cardiovascular screenings.

"Certain diseases are predisposed to the children from their parents and it is a good time to get the screening so that they can take steps to good health," Winfield said.