Hear from Exercise Science Graduates
What Do Truman’s Exercise Science Graduates Say About Their Truman Experience?
Exercise Science graduates are outdoor adventure guides, teaching at universities, running cardiology clinics, practicing physical therapists and physicians, directing research, and much more.
Witnessing first-hand the results of our training on the health of our teams we work with has heightened my passion and enthusiasm for assisting athletes to reach the best of their ability. Improving fundamental principles of speed, strength, power, and agility, we have already experienced a decrease in ACL tears and other injuries.
While training and conditioning are important, it is imperative that these young women develop their characters into confident and socially empowered athletes of next-level potential. Leading by example, these impressionable athletes need a mentor, a cheerleader, and a disciplinarian to prepare them for the competitive behaviors life will challenge them with. This is why we are stellar at what we do. I am confident we will continue reaching a wider scope as I learn more from the amazing athletes and coaches in South Florida.
I’m so thankful for my time at Truman as a student-athlete where I learned to mature, grow, learn, and gain the confidence I would need to step outside my comfort zone and become not only an influential coach and mentor to these athletes but an ambitious businesswoman.”
—Laura Stark (’15), Exercise Science
Owner and Sports Performance Specialist, Stark Strong Performance
As I reflect back on all of my experiences, I can say with confidence that the opportunities I had in the Exercise Science Department at Truman State are the reason I have gotten to where I am today. At Truman, I was able to become a T.A. and later a head T.A. in human anatomy, which revealed my passion for deeper scientific questions and motivation to pursue a doctorate. I was also supported and encouraged by the administration in the Exercise Science Department to be the first student to design and instruct a student-led course. The Pershing Scholarship also pushed me to think bigger in terms of my future career aspirations. The relationships that I made with other students and with faculty are friendships and mentorships that continue to impact and enhance my career and my life. I can’t thank this university and the Exercise Science Department enough for the path it set me on!”
—Ashley (Ward) Archer, (’11), Exercise Science
—Jordan Brown (’18), Exercise Science, Internship with Indianapolis Colts
Jamie graduated with an exercise science major and a biology and disability studies minor in May 2018. She will be attending Washington University in St. Louis for PT school in Fall 2018. Originally from St. Louis, she graduated from Kirkwood High in 2014, where she swam and ultimately was recruited by Truman. While at Truman, Jamie competed at the GLVC conference meet for four years, as well as the NCAA meet for three years. She qualified for NCAA on relays during her sophomore and junior years. During Jamie’s senior year, she qualified in individual events as well as relays.
Jamie found this scholarship online and decided to apply. She is excited to represent our school on the big stage, so to say. Jamie says, “I think my steady improvements in swimming and having a best season my senior year, along with all of the hard work in my classes and getting accepted at Wash U, along with the generous letters of rec from my coach and professors are what led to me getting chosen. I’m just really happy I decided to apply even though I knew there was a much larger field and not really knowing my odds. I hope other soon-to-be-senior Truman athletes see this and are inspired to apply in the years to come! You never know until you try!”
—Jamie Fitzpatrick (’18), Exercise Science
Following my goals to reach an even broader audience of students in a higher education setting, I took a position with Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, NE) as the Assistant to the Provost for Student Success and Diversity. Beginning in 2009 and under the leadership of the Provost, I began work setting a vision for increasing student retention and persistence for underrepresented minorities at NWU. Simultaneously, I served as the Director of our office of Multicultural Programs and Services and provided mentorship and advising to URM students and special cohorts (for example, student athletes). Notable successes included a 2.7% increase in overall enrollment of underrepresented minorities within a two-year time span. In time, I was promoted to Director of Student Success and Retention, and now currently I serve as the Assistant Dean for Student Success and Persistence. Daily work includes providing academic success services and assistance to students whose progress to graduation is at risk through individual counseling, instruction of our success seminar, and advising. In addition, I provide strategies for retention that includes monitoring data, processes, and services that impact our overall undergraduate retention rates.
In my efforts over the years, I’ve worked hard to diversify our student body. Much centered around my passions for mentoring and advising. And particularly those belonging to marginalized groups. Notable collaborations include, in 2010 being named program coordinator of our LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM) Program. This has allowed me to reconnect with my first love, science. I work to recruit and retain high-achieving URM students in the STEM disciplines. Through the efforts of intrusive advising, this program tracks our students from first-year enrollment through degree completion.
Other community involvement includes sitting as a Board Director with the Wood Charitable Fund, Inc. and the NE Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.”
—Candice Howell (’05), Exercise Science
In addition to the subject matter, I had many opportunities for professional growth. The professors in the Exercise Science Department were approachable to help me design research projects and present them at national conferences. I also learned how to teach others in a professional setting through being a teacher’s assistant. I will be forever grateful for the confidence that these professional relationships gave me, and how they helped me start medical school in 2015 with that confidence. I was prepared for the rigors of the classroom first two years of medical school due to the rigors of the exercise science program in addition to the research, clubs, and professional organizations that I was a part of in undergrad. As a third-year medical student, I am able to use my professional, time management, and research skills to use my time in the hospital and clinics to the best of my abilities. I know that the research I was able to be a part of, the knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, and the professional relationships that I was able to foster during my time in Exercise Science not only had a great impact on my acceptance into Creighton University School of Medicine but also gave me the framework that I needed to succeed once I got here. I can’t wait to see where my medical career takes me in the future, and I know that I will always have Truman Exercise Science to thank for the start of it all.”
—Becca Rockamann (’15), Exercise Science
—Natalie Gudehus (’17), Exercise Science
I am currently working as a Physician Assistant in primary care at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in the Kansas City area. I can honestly say that Truman’s academic excellence got me to where I am today and I wouldn’t change a thing. The HES program even helped me to fulfill my desire to complete a medical internship abroad.
Truman’s HES program truly invests in their students. My time at Truman will forever be some of the best years of my life!”
—Elli (Mathis) Roberts (’12), Exercise Science
Fast forward to today (nearly 12 years since I left Kirksville). I’m now in my 4th year as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital—the #3 ranked children’s hospital in the country! I have become the “teacher” and hold multiple leadership roles as the Medical Student Clerkship Director for University of Cincinnati PM&R and the Associate Program Director for the Triple Board Pediatrics/PM&R/Pediatric Rehab Medicine program at Cincinnati Children’s. I’m also one semester away from receiving a Master’s of Medical Education. Every day I get to use the physiology, musculoskeletal, development, and biomechanical knowledge I learned at Truman. And even better, I get to pass along my love for education that was instilled in me during my time at Truman by some of the best and most compassionate undergraduate professors out there. I have no idea where I’d be if it wasn’t for Truman, but I can certainly say it changed me and my career for the better!”
—Ashlee (Brown) Bolger, MD (’05), Exercise Science
—Hailey Benoist (’15), Exercise Science
—Brittany (Beeler) Eagen (’13), Exercise Science
—Jeremy Crenshaw, PhD, Exercise Science (’03)
Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware
—Nicole Kline (’16), Exercise Science/Minor in Biology
—Taylor Elwell, Exercise Science (’11)
I am currently a ski patroller at Loveland Ski Area and a white-water rafting guide on the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River for American Adventure Expeditions. I have found a career that I love and am extremely passionate about, and Truman is responsible for opening up my eyes to the outdoor adventure industry. A great deal of responsibility, professionalism, social skills, and critical thinking are necessary in order to create a safe, fun, and unforgettable outdoor experience that most people otherwise could not have.
Truman gave me skills so far beyond my diploma that helped me be highly qualified for these positions. They also allowed me to develop a view of the world and my life that many people have told me they envy and wish they would have had when they were first starting their careers.
Not a day goes by that I don’t use a skill or piece of knowledge instilled in me during my time in Kirksville, Mo. As I continue my outdoor career and change people’s lives through these experiences, I will always keep in mind one of the most important things I learned at Truman: that graduation and a diploma are only the beginning of the road to wisdom and I will forever be a student and a Bulldog!”
—Richie Schumacher, Exercise Science (’12) and MA in Leadership (’15)
“Truman’s HES Department provided me with a fantastic platform on which I could build my knowledge and continue my education well-prepared. I had little difficulty transitioning to graduate school, especially with the curriculum background of the required writing-enhanced courses. The small class sizes at Truman allowed me to build relationships with other students in the department; ones that are now close friends and colleagues in the field of exercise physiology. The professors were outstanding and experienced, encouraging personal and professional growth in the field. These high expectations allowed me to arrive in graduate school with experience conducting research and presenting scholarly work at professional meetings. I couldn’t have asked for a better undergraduate experience than the one I received at Truman State University.”
—Kelli Dudley-Teson (’03), Exercise Science
Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Ward Family Heart Center – Cardiology Clinic
“The opportunities available to me as an undergraduate in Exercise Science at Truman State University were numerous. We had chances to participate in internships, join clubs relating to the field, volunteer our time to the community, and get to know our instructors personally. Many of these things can be found in other programs, but what couldn’t be duplicated was the interaction I had with my professors. Indeed, their enthusiasm was infectious and their demeanor was approachable. Throughout the curriculum, I was challenged by my instructors to approach learning with alacrity; after all, these were not assignments I was doing for them, but ones I was doing to prepare myself for the future and they made sure we understood this.
The standard the professors set was one of professionalism and caring that I still reflect on to this day. They were encouraging and patient, thoughtful and thought-provoking, and humble while confident. Throughout my continuing education, I’ve come to find that not all professors are like this, not everyone will let you into their lives, not everyone is invested in the students’ personal development. Beyond the love for the field that my professors at Truman helped kindle, I knew I had to continue my education to both learn all I could about the field, but also pay it forward and help the next generation. With their help, I was able to successfully obtain a doctorate in exercise science. Now, as I have become the professor, not a day goes by where I don’t reflect on how I can be to my students what my professors were to me.
It’s not just the big moments that matter and it’s not just the mentoring that helped me get to where I am today. It’s the small conversations in the hallways, it’s the expectations they set for us, the nods of approval, it’s the fact that they know us and they can see our potential. It’s the in-class time that sets this up, but it’s all the other hours of the day that sets the Health and Exercise Sciences Department at Truman apart from all the others.”
— Michael Landram (’07), Exercise Science
— Katie Hirsch, (’16), Exercise Science
— Kirsten Maakestad (’15), Exercise Science
— Drew Fuemmeler (’14), Exercise Science: Sport Management
— Jenny Hill (’15), Exercise Science; DPT Class of ’18
— Nic Shea (’14), Exercise Science
“When I was 16, I knew I wanted to earn a doctorate in physical therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. I was hopeful that attending Truman State University as an undergraduate, majoring in exercise science, would help me reach that goal by preparing me with a well-rounded curriculum, excellent advisors, and unique learning opportunities. The decision to attend Truman paid off, and as a result, I did graduate with a DPT from Wash U, I am in a career I love, with an education that continues to guide my clinical practice. The HES Department is full of competent, caring, and innovative faculty, who make the extra effort to help students reach their academic and professional potential. I enjoyed my undergraduate experience with the HES family so much that I returned as faculty to help educate future health care providers at Truman!
— Sara (Detweiler) Funk (’07), Exercise Science, Pre-PT
— Camden Stockton (’11), Exercise Science, Sport Management
— Jayme Reynolds (’15), Exercise Science