High school students learn about exercise science during Ohio State visit

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High school students learn about exercise science during Ohio State visit

Faculty, students led tour of laboratories, fitness facilities

High school juniors from the Tolles Career and Technical Center in Plain City recently visited The Ohio State University's Columbus campus to learn about health science courses of study and careers. The College of Education and Human Ecology's(EHE) exercise science program hosted the visit.

The students, who study exercise science at Tolles, toured Ohio State's laboratories and gym in the Physical Activity and Educational Services Building, where EHE faculty and students conduct research.

"Bringing them to a place like this at Ohio State, they can see top-notch facilities and see everything that we do in the labs and all of the research and the teaching and the high-impact experiences that undergraduates receive as part of their programming," said Associate Professor Carmen Swain.

The visit also offered the Tolles students "the opportunity to be involved with the research and interact with our graduate students and some of our undergraduate students."

The Ohio State visit enabled the Tolles students to see subjects they study being put into practice, said Kristin DeRoads, the career center's exercise science instructor.

"We talk about how to do body composition, how to test strength and the various tools that are used," she said. "Being able to actually see and experience them as a student gives them a different perspective and hopefully opens their eyes to what exercise science truly can offer to them."

Jean-Pierre Khouzam, an Ohio State kinesiology major and graduate teaching associate, helped lead the tour and discussed his research with the Tolles students. He said the tour served as an introduction to exercise science on the collegiate level and its everyday applications.

"I think it's important for them to be exposed to the fact that the program isn't just sitting in a class or sitting in a lab," he said. "You're running the tests yourself. You're getting exposure on how to do it. There are so many different internships and research positions that you can get."

Swain gave the students an overview of Ohio State's exercise science program and related career paths. Following the presentation, Swain and Associate Professor Chris Zirkle answered students' questions and provided them with resources with additional information on courses of study.

"A lot of times people use exercise science as a springboard into some other type of career like physical therapy, foundational therapy practitioners, occupational therapy, medical doctors," Swain told the students. "We also have people who have interests in strength conditioning and coaching, and community health and wellness. And then there's research. There's a wide variety of things that you've seen represented."

For more information about Ohio State's exercise program, visit the program's website.

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