Jason Koski/University Photography

Hilary Dorsch Wong poolside at Helen Newman.

With a master's degree in history from Cornell in 2008 and another in library science from Syracuse University in 2010, Hilary Dorsch Wong, reference coordinator and senior manuscript processing specialist in the Cornell Library Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, has much to be proud of.

But ask her for her most recent accomplishment, and she will describe how she overcame a phobia and learned to swim this past year, thanks to Cornell's Wellness Program. Her membership in the program was free as a benefit of her participation in the Cornell Program for Healthy Living (CPHL), one of the health insurance plans offered by the university.

Wong said that she originally joined the CPHL for financial reasons: It had no deductible, a small premium and great coverage, including a comprehensive yearly physical.

"I joined CPHL when I began working at Cornell because it was the most affordable option, rather than because I had prevailing health problems I wanted to address," she said. "I thought the Wellness membership benefit sounded nice, in theory, but I didn't do anything with it until I had been here a full year."

Wong had known for many years that she should learn how to swim but, because of earlier experiences, kept postponing doing anything about it. "I'd been terrified of the water since childhood," she said.

The Wellness benefit motivated her to join a beginner's swimming class in fall 2011. Her instructor, Colleen Reilly, was especially patient with Wong's anxieties. At first Wong was frantically focused on developing a correct technique, but Reilly kept telling her to relax. Eventually, as Wong described it, "a switch flipped": "I finally learned not to fight the water. I found that I not only could swim, but actually enjoyed it," she said, calling her accomplishment "liberating." "I was so excited, I went home and called and emailed everyone and posted my experience on Facebook," she said.

Wong then took the Advanced Beginners class and now swims two or three times a week at Helen Newman. She has also taken advantage of such CPHL benefits as nutritional counseling and a fitness consultation through the Wellness Program and the free annual physical examination through CPHL. "I am in by far the best physical shape of my life," she said.

"If it hadn't been for the CPHL giving me that nudge by making the Wellness membership and, thus, my PE class free, I might never have gone through with taking the class and might never have known what I was missing," she said.