When most people think of exercise, they think of grueling workouts and hitting the treadmill. However, the realm of exercise science can go far beyond that. To show this, 45 exercise science senior students from Grand Valley State University put on a career expo Friday, Dec. 2.

The exercise science internship and career expo gave students the opportunity to display the work they’ve done all semester, with their employer present as well. The topics of rehabilitation, wellness, recreation and more were touched on. The event drew in a few hundred interested students, along with President Thomas Haas making an appearance as well.

One of the student presenters, Thomas Braganca, displayed his internship work with his supervisor Alexandria Hoffman. Braganca worked for Northern Physical Therapy and helped design programs, run fitness classes and helped with physical training. He also worked to help prepare people for triathlons. Braganca and Hoffman answered questions for students interested in interning there in the future.

“I chose this field because I get to help people,” Jordan Mitchell, GVSU senior presenter said, “I can see (the athletes) performance and help them reach their goals.”

Mitchell had an internship at the University of Michigan. He spoke of how he got to meet the coaches of all of the sports teams with the exception of the football team. Mitchell then was able to use top-notch technology in different facilities to design proper workouts for athletes. For Mitchell, it is about more than work.

“You’re a mentor to the athletes as well as a trainer. You can’t just be drilling them every second, they’re there for more than just sports,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell then talked about how he chose the field of exercise science because of all the different directions you can take with it.

“It takes a highly motivated person to do what I did. You have to ask questions and meet as many people as you can,” he said.

Using his experience, Mitchell hopes to work his way toward starting his open practice one day. Students that are interested in exercise science should not only be motivated, but keep an open mind as well, Braganca said.

“Don’t be afraid to try new things,” he said. “People get stuck in a box, don’t be afraid to jump out of it.”