William Peace University begins another academic year as classes move into full swing in early September. As the population of WPU increases to above 800 diverse individuals, faculty and staff worked tirelessly leading up to the new year to create as many opportunities as possible for all students.
The 2017-2018 academic catalog has introduced a new history, business and exercise science (ESS) major that have expanded the possibilities for our students to strive in a field that interest them. That being said, what interesting opportunities does the new ESS major bring?
The creation of the ESS major opens up our students to the world of athletic training and .Kinesiology This is entirely new to our campus and is incorporating our athletic training staff into the learning process with the help of new instructors like Lizzie Lange, a new professor charged with the creation of our ESS major. Now, just under a month into the fall semester, Lange is thrilled to see so many students engaged with her program.
With multiple years of service as a challenge rope course instructor, she has found a home at WPU. The opportunity to birth a new major program, for Lange, was a chance of a lifetime. She loves to teach and coach, shaping the minds of young athletes who find interest in ESS.
Tyler Tilson, a new ESS major, said he is “pumped to start the new ESS program. When I initially started at Peace, they didn’t offer a major that caught my eye until this one.”
The ESS program has also built a new performance lab located in the back of the gymnasium, inside the Hermann Athletic Center. Inside this high-tech lab, students are able to practice methods of training and study ways to test your body. The lab is open to all ESS majors between the hours of 2 and 3 p.m. on Thursdays.
The 2017 – 2018 course catalog shares further information regarding required courses for the new program. ESS will contain six core courses with many new allied courses available as electives.
The ESS program will be working with the community by volunteering and shadowing for experience more often than the required internship of INT-490. She hopes that “30 – 40 % of the major will go to grad school… and the other 60 % will go into the real world.” (You can find a list of jobs related to ESS on the WPU home web page.)
“It is is very important to me that through our courses that we also serve our local community,” she said.
Along with ESS, students are also jumping at the opportunity to pursue passions in History as well as leadership in the business world. These two majors are not entirely new. History, as well as business leadership management, were minors already offered at WPU.
These courses were designed to assist the student in gaining a different degree but now, you can focus even more precisely. Faculty of the business department has worked in collaboration with students in the past to see what really interest the mind of a business students. Instructors were able to discover that students need more as leadership plays an enormous role in managing a business.
For more information regarding the new majors at WPU, or anything pacer related, visit www.peace.edu, or speak with your advisor.