Meet Ari: Exercise science

I chose exercise science because it combines my love of exercise with anatomy and physiology. Growing up I knew I wanted to go into medicine, and as I progressed playing sports my love for exercise grew and grew. So, when it came to figuring out my major—it was an easy decision for me.

The thing that sold me on WMU for exercise science was how they split the program into focuses. Other schools had one-track degrees that did not set you up for anything specific. WMU, however, created different pathways within the degree that better sets the student up for success post-graduation, whether going straight into the workforce or pursuing a higher degree. Personally, I am on the pre-professional/clinical pathway which allows me to cover any prerequisite classes I will need for a graduate program.

My favorite professor at WMU is Julie Raedy. Her HPHE 1520 was truly a mind-opener for me. I took this my first semester at WMU, and it really put into perspective how broad exercise science is. I always thought of it as the usual personal trainers and athletic trainers, but there is so much more to it than that. This is something I never would have learned without Julie. She is also the sponsoring professor for the exercise science club. Having her as a professor provided me with so many connections for shadowing experience and other opportunities.

I am most excited to learn about biomechanics. I love learning about how the body moves and the mechanisms behind our everyday movements. I have heard countless things about how interesting the subject is, and I cannot wait to dive deeper into it. 

My favorite activity is going to the hockey games at Lawson! The Lunatics are truly the best student section in college hockey and the energy we give is electric. It is so fun to see the entire school rally together behind the team and create a reputation for being a hard rink to play in.  

I would tell them that WMU genuinely cares about the path of its students. They are constantly improving programs and creating more opportunities for experience while in school. Western requires you to have either research or an internship done before you graduate, which is a wonderful way for you to start learning before getting into the workforce. On top of that, our campus is beautiful, and the community built by Western is truly some of the value. I can confidently say that Western is a place you want to be.