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ORU Alumni Still Active
By Jadell Forman (Class of 1990)
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Scientific Study
The 1990 scientific study, "A University Health Fitness Program Revisited," by Paul Brynteson, Thomas M. Adams II, and Sally Schollmeier, compared ORU alumni to those of another church-related university. The comparable university had a philosophy similar to ORU's, but differed in program. Differences cited: only one semester of required physical education; no required field test; no required aerobics points; and no fitness concepts class.
A random sample of alumni from both schools was asked, "How important was the contribution of your college health and physical education program in developing: 1) your knowledge about health and fitness; 2) a positive attitude toward fitness; and 3) your current exercise habits?"
In all three categories, study writers report, "The findings suggest that the ORU alumni felt their program more positively affected...." Using a 5-point scale, ORU alumni felt more positively shaped in knowledge, by 1.4 points; in attitude, by 1.1 points; and in current habits, by 1.0 points.
Anecdotal Study
We caught up with ten alumni still collecting (if not counting) aerobics points. (For complete responses, click here.) Their responses resembled those of the 1990 study in areas of knowledge, attitude, and habit.
Current Habits. The alumni we spoke with report exercising three to five times per week, compared to the ORU alumni average of 2.5 times per week.
Three alumnae--Daleen Nimick, Cindy Nussbaum, and Claire Paulson--work out together. These accounting classmates didn't become friends until, as alumnae, they started to cross paths at the Aerobics Center. Like them, 75 percent of the respondents like to work out with someone.
Five alumnae tell us they often walk as a means of exercise. One of those, Rachel Wagner, has been doing so for twenty-five years--despite sometimes-freezing temperatures. "Even when we lived in Wisconsin, I would bundle up and get out..."
Knowledge Through Experience. Initially dismissive of ORU's aerobics program, James Barber changed his mind for good. "At first I thought the requirements were little annoying aerobics classes, until I read... Fitness and Faith. I gained a lot of knowledge I still use..." Two alumnae credit ORU for newfound interests. "I'm pretty sure that I would have never taken up running without the HPE requirements," says Tina (Butler) Keller, who now runs five times per week. And Claire Paulson says, "I never would have discovered I was capable of [completing the 15K Tulsa Run] if I hadn't attended ORU."
Gratitude. Although a minority of the 1990 respondents complained about ORU's fitness requirements, the majority expressed thankfulness for the program. Two-thirds of our respondents favored aerobics points while students. Now as alumni, they all report benefiting from ORU's fitness program.
Overall, the common denominator among respondents was energy. In one way or another all reported that exercising gave them a boost--one they find more and more valuable. As Calvin Roso explains, "I don't necessarily enjoy exercise any more in my forties than I did in my twenties. But I enjoy the results more."
