Walt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1942. When the time came for him to go to college, he moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas and has lived in Texas ever since. He began his teaching career at St. Stephen's in Austin and then came to Houston in 1992 to teach at St. John's School. He's taught everything from art classes to English as a Second Language. But for Walt, art is more than a career. "Art is everything," he says, "It's a lifelong pursuit." Walt and his wife stay active in the community. They reach out to others and live their values by working with young people at their church. "I'm just trying to learn how to grow in this stage of my life."

Q:  How do you define good health? 

A:  "To me, health is two pronged. It's spiritual and physical. Spirituality creates balance. The physical side is important too. I read the Bible and try to exercise at least five times a week."

Q: Have you come across any personal challenges that have made it difficult to stay healthy?

A: "It's very difficult being very consistent with my exercise. I had bad arthritis in the base of my spine that made it difficult to walk. I had to more or less crawl. So I prayed for healing and turned to my church community. God listened and really helped me there. So I started swimming as a way of exercising and not putting pressure on my spine. And it's really helped me. A friend of mine suggested a class at Lamar High School, right next door to where I live."

Q: How do plan ahead to stay healthy?

A: "I go to my group class. But it is very expensive, so I also started going to one of the local health clubs with a pool. Training for swim meets keeps me motivated. I was never into athletics or competition. But meets give me the chance to make my time better. Not necessarily win, but do better. I like to compete against myself and I enjoy my coach. It is a good way to plan ahead and stay with it."

Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to make a plan for his or her health?

A: "Don't be afraid to do it. Start out small where you feel comfortable. If you can, enlist a friend to participate with you."

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Juanita is a healthy and fun-loving Houstonian who loves to help people. She was born in the Philippines, and then moved to Chicago, where she met her husband. Juanita and her husband lived in Chicago for 16 years, where she practiced medicine as an anesthesiologist. But it was cold in Chicago!

Juanita has lived in Houston for 32 years! She keeps very busy by exercising five days a week, volunteering at her church, and spending time with her grandchildren.  As a member of the YMCA, Juanita attends the Active Older Adults (AOA) classes five days a week.  In addition to exercising at the YMCA, she also likes to walk her dog, Randy, twice a day: "its good exercise and a relief of stress."

Q:  How did you first get active at the YMCA? 

A:  "We belonged to Texas HealthSpring and it was one of the benefits.  My daughter is very athletic and was bugging me to join but I thought I was too busy to exercise."

Q: Have you come across any personal challenges that have made it difficult to stay healthy?

A: "Well, I have some pretty big problems with my knees but I still come to the YMCA and keep on moving."

Q: How do plan ahead to stay healthy?

A: "I will continue to exercise, eat the right food and take my medication."

Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to make a plan for his or her health?

A: "Eat the right food, exercise, and don't stress yourself out.  For a while, I had a hard time saying "no", so I joined everything and soon found myself spread out far too thin.  So, I cut down on what I was doing.  And now I feel a lot better.  I am still busy but I have time to do the things I enjoy."

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