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Exercise Science Students Gain Experience with Seniors

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As an assistant professor in Keene State College’s Physical Education Department, Dr. Melanie Adams strives to provide her students with enriching learning experiences and relevant and real-life skills that will help them when they graduate. Dr. Adams herself earned a degree in athletic training from Keene State in 1993, and returned to the College as a faculty member in 2012.

Dr. Adams recently demonstrated her commitment to enriching students’ experience when she recruited 24 senior adults for an end-of-the-semester fitness testing session for her exercise science students at Spaulding Gym. “The goal is for undergraduate students to get exposure to older adults—a group of people we usually don’t work with,” said Dr. Adams. “Most of our fitness programming is done with healthy, college-aged students, so this is a really great opportunity for students to meet and work with older-age people and hear about what they need in terms of physical activity.”

Assisted by Dr. Adams, students in her testing and programming of exercise class put the seniors through their paces in a variety of fitness tests that measure five components: (1) cardio-vascular fitness, (2) muscular strength, (3) muscular endurance, (4) body composition, (5) and flexibility.

Dr. Adams says one of the leading points she tries to convey to her students is the different role that fitness plays for senior adults. “It’s about function. How long can I stay in my house, how much independence I can have?” she said. “We’re looking at a whole different idea of what it means to be physically active and what it can contribute to over an adult’s lifetime.”

A Broader Experience

The students said working with a different age group was very beneficial. “It was definitely a good experience to work with the senior group,” said Zach Carroll, a junior from Derby, CT. “I’m going into physical therapy, so I will work with a lot of people in an older age range. It’s good to have this experience before starting my career.”

Begin pull-quote…This is a really great opportunity for students to meet and work with older-age people and hear about what they need in terms of physical activity. …end pull-quote
– Dr. Melanie Adams

“The older adults want to interact with the students. They enjoy hearing what the students have learned, and like asking them questions,” said Dr. Adams, who recruits older adult clients from the College’s Institute for Lifelong Learning and the Keene Senior Center. “Conversely, students get the opportunity to talk with people who have life experience. We have several clients who had by-pass surgery or hip replacements. They know they have to be physically active because it improves their health and quality of life. It’s a much different perspective than younger people who exercise to reach a certain fitness level or to be a competitive athlete.”

Dr. Adams shares her data with the Keene Senior Center. The Center then shares it with the United Way to show that it’s an ongoing program in the community. Dr. Adams also uses the information for a research-based statistical analysis class she teaches.

Looking ahead, Dr. Adams would like to work with the College’s Human Resources department to engage employees of all fitness levels as participants in her labs. “We have many tests to offer, and the students benefit from working with people who present a variety of opportunities and challenges; it’s an important part of their learning,” said Dr. Adams.

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