posted on September 15, 2021
Hi everyone, my name is Liv, I am an intern with Union Fitness this semester! Currently, I am in my senior year of undergrad at Chatham University in the Shadyside / Squirrel area, majoring in exercise science with a minor in psychology. Next year I will go to graduate school to pursue a degree in occupational therapy. This career has always interested me because of the overlap between the physical and the mental, and how we can use that to help people obtain or regain their freedom. As of right now, I am particularly interested in the pediatric side of occupational therapy. I have had quite a bit of experience with kids in leading youth groups, being a long-term sitter for 2 foster children, and working in my mom’s special education classroom with the occupational therapist.
I am originally from a small town in Ohio called Sugarcreek, it is actually the “Little Switzerland of Ohio.” We have the world’s largest cuckoo clock and have an annual swiss cheese festival. I went to a small high school and was very close with my science teacher. She is the person I thank for helping me find my love for science and anatomy. Mrs. Z always encouraged me to push myself and picked me up when I was down. I am so grateful for all she did for me and that it has gotten me to the place I am today.
Some fun facts about me are I have five dogs and one cat. My cat is named Jessie Saint James (Saint for short) and lives with me at school. He is named after one of my favorite TV show characters. My favorite food is bread and I very much prefer Coke over Pepsi. I have a slight addiction to watching TV series and have a running list of each show with a detailed review of each, so far there are a total of 104 recorded shows.
Besides working at Union, I am an RA and also work at the bed and breakfast on campus. I have a light load of classes this semester, so I decided a few weeks ago to get an ASL certification online. I have always been interested in sign language because my mom took me to a few classes when I was younger when she had to learn it for her classroom. ASL is something that will be very useful in my future career working with children with disabilities and it is a skill that I think everyone should have at least a slight understanding of. Working to make the world a more inclusive place should be something we all continually strive for.
So far, my time at Union Fitness has been great. I have already learned so much in the little time I have been here. Something that has really stuck with me is the idea that if people don’t think you care, they don’t care how much you know. This means that in order to really get the best out of people you are working with you need to connect with them on a personal level, and not just treat them like someone you see for an hour at a time just to make a little money. When people know that you care about them as a person, they are much more likely to listen to the things you have to say and try their hardest. This is something that I think Union Fitness does really well and I hope to do that same both here and in everything I do in the future.
Thanks for taking the time to get to know a bit about me. Hope to see you around the gym sometime!
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