Cailla Prisco
Student Life Editor
Being a college student is hard enough, and staying healthy and active on top of it can almost sound impossible, but it’s quite the opposite. In fact, some students take exercise and nutrition so seriously that it’s also their major.
Exercise Science, Health Science, and Nutrition are very large studies at Keene State College and students are taking their passion and turning it into a career.
Kirsten Youngstrom is a junior at Keene State and is studying in the exercise science major, constantly making health and fitness a priority in her everyday life, and continuously getting support from her teachers, she says,
She went on to say, “They always like us to set goals, whether that means trying a new exercise or running a mile in a certain amount of time, they are really good at making us feel like we are exceeding our potential.”
Youngstrom continued to talk about her day to day life as a college student. “As a junior it’s a little easier than last year to eat more healthy, because I am not in the dining hall anymore and there is no more temptation because they would always have fries, burgers, pizza.” She goes on to say that making her own food helps her stay in her target health goal, “It’s just a little more expensive, but so much better for your body.”
Professor Amanda Hickey teaches as a health science instructor at Keene State, and believes that the students in this major are so dedicated to what they are learning, because it’s not easy being at this age and being the optitune of health.
As most teachers, Hickey will help her students in any way that she can, she said, “I always start with a check in where the students give me a thumbs up, middle, or down. If there is a thumbs down, we all talk about it as a class and help relieve some of that stress or anxiety.”
Hickey added, “I bought my students pedometers so at the end of every week we can see how many steps they did and see if they surpassed their goal, that way even if they are busy with class or school work and they don’t have time to get to the gym everyday, they are still walking and staying active.”
Professor in Human Performance and Movement Sciences Donna Smyth said that staying active on campus is one of the most important things that students can do. “You have to carve out time, that’s the only way you’ll know that you will get a workout in, if you plan it out ahead of time,” said Smyth.
Though it may be a challenge to exercise and eat healthy while at college, it’s achievable with the right state of mind.
Youngstrom said, “It’s hard but make the time for it and be a conscious eater.”
Cailla Prisco can be contacted at
cprisco@kscequinox.com
