Articles - Winter 2007 - return to index
Where the Jobs Are:
Fitness from the inside out
Daron Parmenter decided to learn the right way to bring his body back to health after receiving what he calls inferior rehabilitative care following an injury. He says the experience ultimately prompted him to pursue a career working with those who have physical injuries, disabilities and chronic illnesses.
At Lane, Parmenter received a Fitness Technician certificate and the two-year Fitness Specialist degree through the Professional Fitness Training program, concentrating mainly on Therapeutic Exercise and Rehabilitation Program (TERP) classes.
"Two years to complete a program is so appealing," Parmenter says.
After graduating from Lane in 2000, he accepted a position as a personal trainer at the Downtown Athletic Club, and later as a supervisor over the facility's daily operations. "I was the first person the DAC hired without a four-year degree, because my degree was specific to the field," Parmenter says. "I was making as much or more than those with four-year degrees."
Parmenter recently accepted a position as the fitness manager for My Life Fitness, a new health club in North Eugene that specializes in exercise and fitness programs for people 50 years old and better, and those with special health needs, ranging from brain and spinal injuries to
heart disease and diabetes.
He says his coursework at Lane in wellness and fitness assessments, exercise physiology and kinesiology, and an internship as a personal trainer at what was called the Emerald Valley Athletic Club in Creswell gave him an edge in the health fitness job market.
Parmenter, who serves on the PFT Advisory Committee, provides internship opportunities to Lane students and just recently hired three recent graduates. "I know what’s taught," he says. "I can feel confident that they know what they’re talking about."
Lane's Professional Fitness Training program has received national recognition from the American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM sets the gold standard for curricula that provides training in fitness-related fields. Lane is one of the few community colleges nationwide to receive this recognition.
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