Discover Strength Senior Exercise Physiologist Grace V. was looking for her next step after her time in the Peace Corps. Unsure of exactly where to go, she heard from multiple members of her family (who were Discover Strength clients) about the opportunity to become an Exercise Physiologist.
“I was in South Africa for the Peace Corps. I was a Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Volunteer living and working in a rural community for two years. I graduated from the College of Saint Benedict in May of 2016 and left for South Africa in January 2017. I was there until March 2019 and started with Discover Strength in May of 2019!
My aunt (Carolyn Jones), a long-time Plymouth client, had talked about Discover Strength before, and then my parents started working out together at the Chanhassen location in 2018. I also have known Maria Hauger since we were in elementary school and were teammates for multiple sports as we grew up in Shakopee. So a combination of people in my life had connections with Discover Strength. I reached out to David G while I was in South Africa to learn more about it all. After learning more about what DS was all about, I was intrigued and thought it would be a very cool experience to try when I returned back to the United States. Plus, my mom said the trainers she worked with were “my kind of people” and that couldn’t have been more true.
What is awesome about Discover Strength is that I get to work with great people alongside working with great people…. what I mean is, I get to train incredible clients and learn about their stories while also working with wonderful co-workers/colleagues/teammates at my side. It is the best of both words and I think that is such a unique part of the job with Discover Strength. The company places an enormous amount of time and effort into selecting the staff and most of the time it produces some amazing people. Like-minded people that have a drive to improve the lives of those around them. It is pretty special.
I have gotten stronger. That is a given with the job though right? I started at our Northeast location back in 2019 where it was just Maria and me to start. After a couple of years there, I then transitioned over to the SLP location where I am currently. Today our SLP team is 11 people including myself. So I have been through some big changes and growth over my 3.5 years here. It has been fun to be a part of. Over the course of those 3.5 years, I have grown a lot as an individual. I have gained skills in communication. I have been encouraged to place learning as a top priority every day. I have been supported as I develop my skills as an Exercise Physiologist and have been able to share my own knowledge and skills with newer Exercise Physiologists to help them become better at their jobs. It feels like a full-circle experience to see where I started and where I am today.
I stay because of the people I interact with daily that keep me here at Discover Strength. It is clients that I have worked with since I first started 3.5 years ago that I still train twice a week to this day. It is the new client, who I have never met, and get a chance to dive deep into their goal, their aspirations, their lives while helping them improve their overall health at the same time. It is the friendships I have made with my teammates/coworkers that go far beyond just the training floor. What keeps me here at Discover Strength is that I wake up eager to see what the day brings, because even though I do a “similar” thing each time I go to work, it never gets old. There is just something special about watching someone get stronger, become more confident, smile more, feel better, or even push themselves beyond what they thought they could. It is hard to explain or articulate, but it’s a really cool experience to be a part of.”
-Grace V.
Discover Strength is where you can become a fitness expert, and grow in your craft and knowledge base. If you want to be viewed as a professional in the exercise science industry, Discover Strength is the place to be.
We are always looking for driven individuals to hold themselves to the highest standard in both exercise science and service excellence today. Submit your resume now to start your career as an exercise physiologist today.
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