Career Opportunities
Many of our Kinesiology graduates are teaching and coaching in K-12 schools, with several of them making appearances in various state tournaments. Others are working in fitness centers, hospitals and other such facilities dealing with the wellness movement. Other HHP graduates have jobs with recreation programs at the city and county level. We have other graduates who have gone on to become a medical doctor, a lawyer, cardiac rehabilitation specialists and even fly for FedEx.
Our Exercise Science major has become very popular with our majors. Several of our graduates have already been either admitted to or are already enrolled in physical therapy or other graduate programs.
Student Opportunities
The HHP Department has had several Kinesiology graduates who have had great success in coaching at the high school level, with several of them winning state basketball championships. Students have the opportunity to work with the FHU Athletic Department as student assistants, managers, student trainers, etc. In the past, we have had majors who assisted the Chester County High School, Chester County Junior High School or Jackson Christian School with their athletic programs. Other students have completed practicums with the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital and fitness centers in Jackson, TN and other cities.
Although the department no longer offers a program leading to initial licensure as a certified athletic trainer (ATC/L), several of our students have taken advantage of opportunities at FHU and gone on to receive certification as athletic trainers. Our Exercise Science major prepares students for an entry-level athletic training program at the master's level as well as for other graduate programs in or related to Exercise Science. Recently the department has had several graduates who have gone on to Physical Therapy schools.
We try our best to promote a more professional attitude in our majors. Therefore, we make every effort to get our majors to attend professional meetings, such as those presented by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), the Tennessee Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). Several of our students have attended such professional meetings.
Scholarships Available
Freed-Hardeman University offers financial aid based on academic achievement as well as other criteria. Students seeking licensure to teach may also qualify for aid administered by the School of Education. For more information, please contact the Dean, School of Education or the Financial Aid Office.
Departmental Strengths
Being a small department, the HHP Department's faculty strive to have a one-on-one relationship with its majors. Faculty are ready, willing and able to work with students outside the typical classroom relationship. A friendly relationship develops along with the teacher-student relationship. This can be observed by the number of students who interact with HHP faculty during off-campus activities, including traveling to professional meetings as well as off-campus recreational outings. (Ocoee float-trip)
The HHP Department attempts to develop a more involved professional. Each year, a number of our majors assist in the Special Olympics Bowling and Special Olympics Track and Field events. HHP majors play a major part in hosting the annual FHU Health Fair. Our majors club, Pi Epsilon, meets twice a month for professional or social activities. Each year, we usually have several of our majors assist the FHU Department of Campus Recreation or the FHU Intramural Athletics program. This is the purpose of the Participation Point requirement for our majors.
Facilities
The HHP Department's primary facility is Bader Gymnasium. It contains a full-size basketball court, a 25-yard swimming pool, the HHP Athletic Training Room, the Human Performance Laboratory, HHP Faculty offices, as well as the Office of Campus Recreation. Other facilities utilized include the Sports Center (racquetball courts, weight room, athletic training room), the FHU Family Fitness Center, the Robert Witt Tennis Complex (6 tennis courts) as well as other outside areas.
The Human Performance Laboratory contains a Quinton Q4500 Electrocardiograph recorder interfaced with a Quinton Q55 Series 90 treadmill. The Lab also includes two personal computers with printer and various other pieces of testing equipment such as a Cateye EC-1600 bicycle ergometer, devices for measuring reaction times, depth perception, etc. The Lab also includes the Hu-m-an Movement Analysis system. The Hu-m-an analysis system is an inexpensive method which may be used in two and three-dimensional analysis of human movement.