In a suit and tie, UF President Kent Fuchs did 12 pushups Wednesday to send a message about veteran suicide rates.
At Fuchs’ office in Tigert Hall, UF student Nelly Kadag quickly added 10 more to his tally, which was part of the 22 Pushup Challenge, an initiative highlighting the daily suicide rate among U.S. military veterans.
“It was all for a good cause,” Fuchs said.
On average, 22 veterans commit suicide every day, according to the 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs report.
On Sept. 9, Kadag, an interdisciplinary ecology doctoral student, nominated Fuchs via Twitter to do the pushups.
As Kadag waited in Fuch’s office, she said she couldn’t believe Fuchs accepted. When the 61-year-old university president stepped out, he told her his goal was five pushups.
As his staff counted, Fuchs completed 12 pushups before Kadag topped it off. After, the two shook hands.
Kadag, 30, said she became involved in the pushup challenge after a friend from her native Kenya nominated her. But when she tried to nominate friends on Facebook, no one followed through.
So Kadag started nominating strangers.
On Friday, two University Police officers dropped and gave her 44. Two days later, she challenged the dean of UF’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Holding a copy of the The Independent Florida Alligator with new UF athletics director Scott Stricklin on the cover, Kadag asked Fuchs on Wednesday who he’d like to nominate.
“I nominate Scott Stricklin,” he said with a chuckle.
Nelly Kadag, a 30-year-old UF interdisciplinary ecology doctoral student, talks with UF President Kent Fuchs on Wednesday before completing the 22 Pushup Challenge, which educates people about veteran suicide rates. She nominated him for the challenge on Sept. 9.
