Employees walk the walk in UTSW step challenge, winners collect a unique prize
It’s not every day an employee gets to sit down to a private lunch with UT Southwestern’s Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs.
That’s what happened on March 14, when the three winners of UTSW’s annual Heart Month Step-A-Thon challenge broke bread with Jonathan Efron, M.D., the leader of UTSW’s clinical enterprise since December 2023.
The hour was filled with laughter, emotional anecdotes, and meaningful chats about the UT Southwestern campus and the people who bring it to life.
As part of Heart Month celebrations in February, UT Southwestern employees and students had the opportunity to amp up their own heart health in the annual Step-A-Thon challenge. Over Presidents Day weekend, members of the UT Southwestern community participated in a step challenge and amassed a collective 877,418 steps.
Many of the walkers had both personal and physical motivations to come out on top at the end of the three-day period, and the three highest step counts belonged to:
- Thelma Morgan, a Medical Transcriptionist for Clinical Laboratory Services (217,292 steps)
- Lavanya Vumma, a student intern in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (115,441 steps)
- Gladys Paredes, B.S.N., RN, a Surgical Services nurse at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital (77,073 steps)
As they gathered with Dr. Efron for the celebratory lunch in their honor, Center Times Plus just had to ask each participant how she accomplished such an impressive step count, starting with Ms. Morgan and her mind-blowing top total.
She is no stranger to a step challenge. In fact, you might recognize her name, as she’s been featured in previous years, including in a 2021 story. Her father passed away from heart disease in 2016, and she’s made it her mission to better her heart health and win every possible challenge to honor him.
“He was a healthy guy, but he didn’t like going to the doctor and getting checked out,” Ms. Morgan told the group. “Ever since then, I thought to myself, ‘Dad, I’m going to walk for you.’”
This passion drove her to achieve her highest tally yet, walking upward of 90 miles in a 72-hour period. “I have my own system; I just get up really early and start going. Once I get moving, I just don’t stop,” Ms. Morgan said.
Ms. Vumma explained that the student lifestyle keeps her active. “I like to walk around in between classes, and I also play a lot of tennis,” she said. As an undergrad at the University of Texas at Dallas and an intern in the Graduate School Dean’s Office at UTSW, she enjoyed getting the lay of the land during the Step-A-Thon.
“Since I’m new to campus, it was fun to explore UT Southwestern as I participated in the step challenge,” she added.
Ms. Paredes tries to walk over 10,000 steps each day and is usually able to accomplish it on her schedule as she moves around Clements University Hospital (CUH). When she heard about the step challenge, she used personal motivation to go the extra mile (or 30, according to calculations).
“My dad also passed from heart disease over 20 years ago,” Ms. Paredes shared. “He was 48. I promised myself I would do this for him and keep my own heart very healthy.”
The winners told their stories, shared memories from their time at UTSW, discussed how buildings on campus have changed over the years, their favorite places to get out and about in Dallas, and more. Dr. Efron also engaged them in thoughtful conversations about their work at UT Southwestern and shared reflections on his role as EVP.
As the lunch wrapped up, Dr. Efron thanked the winners for their commitment to heart health and for being so involved in the UT Southwestern community. “As I continue in my role here, I look forward to more conversations like these and the chance to meet the people who make this place so wonderful,” he said.