Kinesiology

The Kinesiology Department at Southwestern University is committed to developing students into active participants in their community and the world. This past summer, Abi Walker '25 completed an internship with Grand Living Georgetown, which offers independent, assisted living, and memory care. During this internship, she led fitness and wellness classes for its residents, her favorites being boxing and water aerobics. Abi engaged additional Southwestern students and Dr. Vanessa Mikan during the Grand Living Summer Olympics, with seven fields of competition for residents to participate.

The Kinesiology Department also continues its research and implementation of a harness-assisted treadmill apparatus (HATA) to enhance flexibility, strength, and comfortability while engaging in locomotor movement for an individual with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

This initial project began in September 2023, the participant, Connor, a 25-year-old male with Spastic Quadriplegic cerebral palsy (SQCP) engaged in 4 days a week of training in the FJS Human Performance Lab. Students designed a six-week trial intervention, having the participant engage in 2 days a week of treadmill locomotor training with flexibility exercises and 2 days a week with strength and flexibility training.

We need your help to continue expanding the offerings available to students in the Kinesiology Department. Your gifts provide opportunities to gain additional real-world experiences through internships and undergraduate research that they will be able to use in their future endeavors.