Lake Region State College in Devils Lake will begin offering a new fitness trainer degree program in the fall.
According to a press release issued by the college, the two-year program will be offered online, but the first year of the coursework can be completed on campus as well.
The program requires 65 credits of general education and program courses. Students will graduate with an associate degree and can transfer to a four-year college or enter into a variety of occupations, including at health clubs, fitness facilities, or other areas that require fitness trainers, said program coordinator Tammy Riggin in the press release.
Article Photos
Submitted Photo - - Tammy Riggin, instructor/coordinator for the fitness trainer technician program, left, and Jenny Steinhaus, instructor.
People who complete the program will be prepared to take a certification exam from the American College of Sports Medicine to become a certified personal trainer.
Demand for fitness trainers is growing nationwide, according to the college's research.
The program is designed to prepare graduates to promote recreational fitness and health activities in the community; assess fitness levels through evaluating, recommending and monitoring client exercise programs; instruct clients in a variety of activities by describing and demonstrating the safe use of equipment, body mechanics and modification strategies; provide leadership by serving as a role model, establishing program direction and maintaining professional ethics.
Erin Wood, director of marketing and communications at Lake Region, said registration for the fall semester is going on now and can take place until classes start in August. Wood said they hope to have about 15 students in the program the first year. The college is marketing the program and also working with four year programs on articulation agreements to make it easier for students to transfer.
For more information or to register, call 1-800-443-1313 or send e-mail to LRSC.Admissions@LRSC.edu.
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Minot State brain study conference set
Minot State University's Center for the Applied Study of Cognition and Learning Sciences is hosting its grand opening conference June 15-17 on Minot State University's campus. Participants will hear national keynote and regional speakers and learn how the mind and brain functions.
In a press release issued by the university center director Deb Jensen said the conference will focus on practical ways in which new neuroscience discoveries are influencing how professional educators approach teaching and will help them sort myth from fact.
The keynote speakers are Pat Wolfe, an educational consultant and author, and Dan Willingham, cognitive psychologist, columnist and author.
Wolfe is a former school teacher, county office administrator and adjunct university professor. Her area of expertise is the application of brain research to educational practice. Her book "Brain Matters" is indispensable for teachers learning about the brain, and "Building the Reading Brain: Pre K-3" examines how students learn to read.
Willingham is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Until 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Now, his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 education. He writes the "Ask the Cognitive Scientist" column for American Educator magazine and is an associate editor of Mind, Brain, and Education, a professional journal. He also wrote "Why Don't Students Like School?"
Participants may choose sessions from four conference strands: perception and literacy, processing and numeracy, emotion and intelligence, bio-chemistry and movement and the brain and behavior. They can also tour the new center facilities in Swain Hall, see findings from applied dyslexia research and look at new electroencephalography and eye-tracking applications.
The conference will interest primary and secondary educators, higher education faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, counselors, social workers, parents, trainers, and the public. MSU students may attend at a reduced rate with a current student ID.
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction approved the conference for Title 1 re-education. The conference is also approved for one semester hour of graduate workshop credit through MSU.
For questions, visit the university's Web site; contact Jensen at 858-3043 or send e-mail to deb.jensen@minotstateu.edu.
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Support group for the blind marks 75 years
The North Dakota Association of the Blind will hold its annual convention June 10-12 at the Holiday Inn-Riverside in Minot.
There is a $5 registration fee to attend the convention and people should register by June 1. People may register by calling Connie Springsted at 838-3909.
Springsted said the association is a peer support group for the blind and that the convention rotates between different towns in North Dakota. Last year it was held in Williston and next year it will be held in Bismarck.
This year's convention marks the group's 75th anniversary. The keynote speak-er at the convention will be Christopher Gray of San Francisco, a past president of the American Council of the Blind.
The convention will include other speakers, a business meeting, a picnic on June 10, a banquet on June 11, and a memorial service on June 12 for all members who died during the past year. There will also be vendors at the convention selling items that are helpful for the blind and sight-impaired, such as talking wrist watches or clocks.
The group includes members of all ages. Members range from the legally blind to the completely blind.
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All America High School Service Team deadline coming up
The deadline to apply for Parade Magazine and generation On's The All America High School Service Team is Monday.
The award recognizes students who have made exemplary contributions in the service areas of health, education, environment, economics or community. Students show service as a solution to solve community problems.
The top 50 finalists, 10 per issue category, will receive certificates. The top 15 (three per issue category) will receive a two-day paid trip to Washington D.C. to receive their award and special recognition.
For more information on how to submit nominations, log on at (www.parade.com/service).
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Graveyard project continues at MSU
Minot State University students have begun year two of a four-year project to complete a detailed cultural resource survey of the First Lutheran Church Cemetery in Minot.
Students will continue identifying the location of graves, their condition, and researching historical information about the deceased. They will also learn how to clean andperform basic monument repairs.
The project will culminate in 2013 during Minot State University's centennial celebration with a Web site detailing the cemetery, its history, and a large number of photographs of it, both past and present.
The public is welcome to observe and anyone wishing to visit during a field session should contact Mark Timbrook at 858-3832.
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Foundation supports scholarship program
People can learn more about donating to the Scholarships for Military Children Program and about scholarship requirements at (www.militaryscholar.org). More than 5,402 scholarships totaling more than $8.3 million have been awarded since the program's start in 2001. This year two students from Minot Air Force Base each received a $1,500 scholarship.
Winners are selected based on academic merit, participation in extracurricular and volunteer activities, and the quality of their essays. Recipients are notified by letter.
The program is administered by Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization responsible for building comfort homes near military medical centers. The foundation bears all costs of the program so that every dollar donated goes for scholarships.
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Lake Region students to train in Fargo, GF
DEVILS LAKE Fifty-eight students are participating in summer peace officer academies in Fargo and Grand Forks, according to a press release issued by Lake Region State College in Devils Lake.
Twenty-nine students are enrolled in both locations. The Grand Forks academy started May 16 and the Fargo academy May 17.
Lake Region State College is the only college in the state of North Dakota authorized to deliver the North Dakota POST Board approved police academy. Successful completion of the program allows graduates to become licensable as peace officers in North Dakota.
Between the two summer academies and fall and spring academies at Lake Region State College, a record 83 students completed the program in 2010.