Andrew Crighton
News Editor
Deep in the bowels of Reed Gym is where you can find the ISU Human Performance Lab. The lab is supervised by Michael Meyers, an associate professor in the sports science and physical education department.
The lab contains top of the line equipment, which gives students the possibility to learn hands-on how to perform exercise tests and fitness exams, along with providing those services to students, faculty, staff and community members.
Meyers has used the lab for another purpose too, to provide access and research opportunities to the Career Path Internship interns that are employed at the lab.
There are currently four interns who work in the HPL, all of whom are conducting individual research using the lab’s equipment and technology.
According to Meyers, the type of work they are doing as undergraduates could easily be found in masters and other graduate-level classes.
Emily Neufeld is one of the interns and is studying the nutrition of rock climbers. A rock climber herself, she created a survey and a diet log that was given to the participants of her study.
Having gathered all of the data, she is currently analyzing it and preparing to write a research paper that she plans on submitting to a peer-reviewed journal.
Colin Mahoney is another intern.
He is studying the attributes that parkour has, and whether it provides both functional and health benefits.
Mahoney teaches a parkour class at ISU, which is where he got the idea to do this study.
“When I started working with [Meyers] as an intern, we decided a way we could use that as an advantage in doing research.”
The two other interns who are conducting research are Ashley Bullers and Andrew Polenske who are studying pain coping skills of female ultra-marathon runners and psychological coping skills of track and field athletes respectively.
Polenske is in the final stages of his research of evaluating track and field athletes in the Big Sky Conference.
While still making advances in her research, Bullers ran into hurdle – There is a very small population of female ultra-marathon runners in the area.
Mahoney and Neufeld explained that they decided to apply to work in the HPL after taking several classes where they used the equipment as students.
The material and content of those classes were complex and difficult to learn, “But I got to the point where I could say and figure out what to say on the tests,” Neufeld said.
Teaching classes inside the lab is one of the main benefits according to both Mahoney and Neufeld, who are both considering applying to graduate school and possibly going into a career that involves teaching.
Mahoney is graduating in December, and would like to come back and work as a graduate assistant, the current position of Cody Smart.
Smart works directly under Meyers in the coordination and running of the lab, and is the one in charge of the day-to-day operations of it. One of Smart’s main responsibilities is evaluating new intern applications.
According to Smart, if Meyers has given a general approval to several applicants, he has the final say in who is selected.
“The biggest impact for me is if they’re asking the right things, they’re engaged, they’ve got the personality to work in here,” Smart said. The standards they maintain are high.
Two new interns have already been selected, as most of the current interns graduating within the academic year.
