Leadership lived: Student enjoys helping others get healthy

 
Megan Boerwinkle loves to lift weights and workout. At the University of Illinois Springfield, she’s helping others get fit as a group exercise instructor and personal trainer.

Boerwinkle, a criminology & criminal justice major, has taught a variety of classes for UIS Campus Recreation and is planning a future career in the fitness retail industry.

“I love helping and influencing people to live a healthier lifestyle,” she said. “It’s exciting for me to see a person change from starting workouts to months later when they feel better.”

As a transfer student, Boerwinkle attended an on campus career fair where she learned about the opportunity to teach classes at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC).

“When I first started teaching group fitness classes and personal training, I was a little bit shy and nervous in my classes and now I’ll hoot and holler and it’s a lot more fun,” she said.

Before she teaches a class, she must write out the workouts she wants to do, think about the equipment involved, set it up and pick out the musical playlist.

“Music is a huge part of it, keeping people motivated,” she said.

Boerwinkle credits the professional staff with Campus Recreation for helping her to “get out of her bubble” and engage with more people on campus.

“Being a UIS employee with Campus Recreation has really taught me about leadership by meeting different groups of people,” she said. “I’ve met so many different people that I would have never met, if I had not come to this school.”

Boerwinkle currently works at the Scheels sporting goods store in Springfield. Following graduation from UIS, she plans to become a shop manager at the Johnstown, Colorado store. She credits her success to the education she’s obtained at UIS.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunities here from getting involved on campus, to your classes and just that smaller school feel is definitely worth it,” she said.