Enhancing the lives of others through fitness.

• Position: Caring PEOPLE

A simple room full of tables and chairs is all that Alex Perdue, exercise science major, needed to create an effective fitness program for her community.

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The sophomore led a group of immigrant and refugee women through multiple exercise, nutrition and health sessions this spring at the Macedonia Family Resource Center in High Point The program included some challenging exercises--especially during the "Learning Together Olympics" event, which served as the finale of the program.

The women, who came to the United States in search of a better life, competed against each other in jumping jacks, squats, and other routines they had practiced regularly. Their races and cultures were numerous, and there was plenty of sweat and determination in the room. But most of all, there was laughter, happiness and an obvious bond the group had formed.

Just down the hall, their children were being mentored by other HPU students in English. In fact, the opportunity for Perdue to create the program evolved through a comparative literature course in HPU's Service Learning Program. Taught by Dr. Cara Kozma, assistant professor of English, the class pushes students to dissect the way contemporary literature portrays globalization. To compare what they read with what they actually see in their community, Kozma arranged for students to tutor immigrant and refugee children at the resource center. After tutoring began every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, the class noticed another important group of people--the mothers who dropped the children off each day.

"Dr. Kozma and the director realized it would be beneficial for both us as students and the mothers to interact and help each other in some way," says Perdue. "They asked if any of us were interested in teaching them about fitness, cooking healthy meals with American food and nutrition. Considering my major, it was a great fit."

For three months, that's what Perdue and the group of women did. They discussed their own culture's food and how challenging...