Highschool lab provides college students path to changing into private trainers
Jordan Bowen stories
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Lakewood Excessive College college students are getting a head begin on careers within the health and medical discipline due to the varsity’s Athletic Life-style Administration Academy (ALMA). Tuesday, the varsity unveiled this system’s new train lab made doable by their partnerships with Johns Hopkins All Kids’s Hospital and Valor Health.
There have been cheers and applause Tuesday as faculty employees and college students lower the ribbon for Lakewood Excessive College’s new train lab. It is a undertaking that is been months within the making.
“This can be a sport changer. I imply, this was a dream, however we didn’t image that it might turn into this actuality,” Lakewood Excessive College ALMA Teacher Erica Miller mentioned.
The lab is a part of the varsity’s ALMA. The 4-year program prepares college students to take the Nationwide Affiliation of Sports activities Drugs Certification examination which upon passing provides them the instruments wanted to get a job as a private coach.
“With out this program, I most likely would not have graduated simply because they push me a lot. Coach M and Ms. Miller push you to a sure extent as a result of they need you to do higher,” 2022 ALMA Graduate Nia McCord mentioned.
It is college students like McCord and her expertise that impressed Johns Hopkins’ All Kids’s Hospital and Valor Health to assist make their train lab a chance. Valor Health donated train tools. In the meantime, the Johns Hopkins All Kids’s Hospital Basis helped assist the lab by a $25,000 grant. The grant effort was spearheaded by Dr. Patrick Mularoni, who’s the medical director for the hospital’s Sports activities Drugs division.
“Understanding how excited they’re about this system it makes it worthwhile for me,” Dr. Mularoni mentioned. “It is nice to know that we’re serving to push these children ahead into careers and those who need to go into medication have a step-up on different individuals round them.”
This system is a serious benefit for college kids to have whether or not they’re heading straight into the workforce or persevering with their schooling.
“They will take this to varsity and work at a rec middle at a university campus. They will get a job at a YMCA or open their very own fitness center,” Miller mentioned.
Whereas the objective could also be a profession in health, it was the compassion proven from her trainer that caught with McCord and in the end impressed her to as a substitute pursue a distinct path.
“It was actually Ms. Miller that made me need to turn into a trainer. It wasn’t actually the well being side. I simply checked out her as an individual and as an educator and simply went previous all of this. I used to be like, Wow, I am actually impressed to do what she does,” McCord mentioned.
