News about Exercise Science

Graveside services will be at the convenience of the family for Donna Rae Miller,  a 23-year member of the physical fitness faculty at Williamsport Area Community College and Pennsylvania College of Technology, who died Thursday, Sept. 17, at the age of 84. Miller, who also served as cheerleading adviser during her campus tenure, was accorded emeritus status upon her 1997 retirement as an associate professor of fitness and lifetime sports. A full obituary was published in weekend editions of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

An exercise science faculty member at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently presented at the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Personal Trainers Conference in Baltimore.

On Oct. 5, Judy Quinti, assistant professor of exercise science, provided a lecture titled “Assessing Your Client for Metabolic Syndrome.”

Read more

The School of Nursing & Health Sciences at Pennsylvania College of Technology held a multifaceted celebration on Oct. 4 by hosting an open house of its facilities and welcoming accomplished alumni, who reflected on how their education has shaped their careers.

“We come together … to celebrate the positive impact all 10 of our nursing and health sciences programs have on our students’ lives, the professions in which they work, and the communities they serve,” said Sandra L. Richmond, dean of nursing and health sciences.

Of particular significance during the celebration was a change to the school’s name: from the School of Health Sciences to the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, and the anniversaries of the occupational therapy assistant program, whose first students graduated 30 years ago, and the physician assistant program, which graduated its first students 20 years ago.

Read more

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Exercise Science Club has developed a unique fundraiser that allows students to gain further hands-on experience while providing employees of Penn College and other local schools with information they can use to achieve their fitness goals.

The proceeds will help club members to pay for the National Strength Conditioning Association Personal Trainer certification exam.

Read more

From the Spring 2017 Penn College Magazine: Juliette Yeager, ’10, is the nutritionist at a Biggest Loser Resort. There, she provides knowledge, encouragement and a healthy menu while she coaches clients to steady health gains. Get her recipe for grilled chicken with quinoa tabouli and beet turnip slaw. Read “Feeding Healthy Lifestyles.”

Around 250 students in the School of Health Sciences – an academic division that spans 11 distinct health care and allied health fields – are participating this week in a series of hands-on emergency health simulations. The school’s fourth annual Interdisciplinary Professional Event involves 24 student teams, each made up of a cross section of health disciplines, discussing and observing one another’s role in their assigned case. Students in the physician assistant major played roles of patients, whose health problems ranged from an allergic reaction to Novocain in the Dental Hygiene Clinic to a loss of consciousness in the Keystone Dining Room, and surgeries to replace hips and remove gallbladders. As “patients” moved through the health care system, they moved, with their observers, from lab to lab in the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center. The purpose of the experience is to prepare the students to deliberatively work together as patients interact with each of them during their health care experience, with an ultimate goal to improve patient care. Also involved were 23 staff and faculty from the school, who planned and managed the event and led groups through their simulations on Tuesday and Thursday.

The Spring 2017 edition of Penn College Magazine features stories of service from Ecuador, where a 2009 grad is helping coastal communities to recover from a massive earthquake; Guatemala, where nursing students learned and worked in a medical clinic; Florida, where an exercise science alumna is helping clients find health; Europe, where a 1941 drafting graduate served his country and his crewmates; and our own campus, where students and employees work to support Dining Services’ free food pantry and a variety of other community needs. Look for the magazine in building lobbies, or read and share these stories now at magazine.pct.edu.

From her childhood preference for raw onions and other vegetables, Juliette K. Yeager has always been a fan of healthy food. The 2010 graduate has put that love to work as a nutritionist for The Biggest Loser Resort at Amelia Island, Florida. Inspired by the popular TV show, the resort provides a sanctuary for individuals to explore healthy life choices, including proper nutrition. Yeager earned an associate degree in physical fitness specialist (now exercise science) at Penn College before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences at Penn State in 2012, and it’s easy to see that she made the right career choice. “We had to take three nutrition classes at the time and, within the first few weeks of that first nutrition class, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she says. “I value the hands-on experience that I had, as opposed to just sitting in a lecture hall with hundreds of kids and not really seeing it firsthand. We actually dealt with real-life clients as opposed to just textbook learning, but I also enjoyed the fact that there was a classroom component. That education was irreplaceable for me. I use it every day, without a doubt.”

Graphic design student Lindsey Martin helped the exercise science department to transform a room formerly used to teach CPR courses. The classroom – Room 107 in Bardo Gymnasium – is now equipped for a hybrid Group Cycling and TRX Training class, taught by John M. Arrigonie, lab supervisor for exercise science. Martin has also completed murals for Schneider Electric and Whoodles, a dog grooming and training facility. In the Bardo Gym classroom, Martin’s mural is faced by cyclists on stationary bikes, so she was directed to design a scene that included a path. “I wanted it to be very vibrant,” she said, so her tree-lined path leads to a bright sunset over purple mountains.

Students in Penn College’s exercise science major joined Judy Quinti, assistant professor of exercise science, in loading a delivery of sports equipment for Firetree Place, a community center just a few blocks from Penn College. The college offered equipment it no longer uses in Fitness & Lifetime Sports classes. In keeping with their career goals to promote wellness, the students delivered a pingpong table, paddles and balls; several badminton racquets with shuttlecocks; volleyballs; tennis balls; and goggles. The mission of Firetree Place is to engage youth through enrichment activities and to provide resources that will strengthen the community at large.

From the Fall 2016 Penn College Magazine: Exercise science students put their knowledge into practice as they help employees meet their fitness goals. Read “Ten Weeks to Fitness Victory.”

A series of academic-based camps at Pennsylvania College of Technology included enough information to satisfy minds hungry for challenge, while not forgetting that it IS summer. A wrap-up photo gallery reflects the unique career opportunities represented at Architecture Odyssey Camp, Designing a Digital Future Camp, Future Restaurateurs Career Camp, Advanced Restaurateurs Career Camp, Graphic Design Summer Studio, Health Careers Camp, SMART Girls Summer Camp, Creative Art Camp and Youth Training for Athletic Development Camp.

Read more

Students in exercise science are lending a hand to the Wildcat women’s soccer team as players prepare for the fall collegiate season. The students are conducting “10-rep max” testing – determining the highest weight the soccer players can lift for 10 repetitions. Using the information, Judy Quinti, assistant professor of exercise science, will develop a summer strength-training exercise program for each athlete. The idea came from an exercise science student who, for a class assignment, reviewed an article in the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Strength and Conditioning Journal. Penn College’s exercise science major is an NSCA educationally recognized program. Because a section of the article addressed strength gains for soccer players, Quinti decided to forward it to the college’s men’s and women’s soccer coaches. Women’s soccer coach John McNichol responded, sending his players to the Bardo Gym to take advantage of the exercise science department’s expertise.

The Penn College Fitness Center this semester introduced Cross Training, the latest addition to its Fitness & Wellness Promotion Series. The one-hour group exercise class involves small circuit-based exercises that are targeted toward burning calories while staying strong and fit. Classes accommodate participants of all fitness levels, from beginners to advanced athletes, on various techniques. The focus is on a progressive format that involves components of cardio, powerlifting and functional calisthenics. The Cross Training classes were offered on Wednesdays in the mezzanine of the Field House, and will continue in future semesters. Participation is free to all members of the Penn College community with a valid ID card. “Look for advertised postings throughout campus and at the Fitness Center (Bush Campus Center, second floor) for details about future classes,” said Domenick S. Schiraldi-Irrera, fitness center assistant (who also provided photos). “Bring a friend and we’ll see you there for another great exercise class offered here at Penn College!”

A dedicated group of exercise science students at Penn College is showcasing its flexibility, strength and creativity, thanks to an Instagram account. The students’ moves and poses, a combination of acroyoga and calisthenics, have proved to be quite popular and inspiring – as seen in this YouTube video: