Devon Stone
The last three and a half years have been nothing short of fulfilling. I met a solid group of friends by living in campus housing my freshman year, and eventually went on to become a Resident Assistant my sophomore year. The summer before that, I served as a SOAR advisor for incoming freshman and transfer students. Being able to serve as a resource for new (and old) students strengthened my leadership skills and complimented my desire to help people. Through these two roles, my experiences with people from all walks of life ultimately diversified my perspective.
The most dynamic experience so far has been playing for the LBSU Men’s Rugby Football team. I joined the end of my freshman year (2013) and attribute much of my athletic and personal growth to the game. Although coming from a wrestling and football background facilitated my physical abilities in Rugby, I immediately felt the culture difference in the sport. The brotherly culture of LB Rugby is something that cannot be replicated on or off the pitch. LB Rugby transcends the barriers of race, ethnicity, sport history, and athletic ability. No matter the background, we win together and lose together, fight together and celebrate together. Fortunately In my case, five of us live together. Last summer we traveled to Germany, Holland, and Belgium to play each nation and explore the countries.
Rugby is the epitome of a team sport: it takes all 15 guys on the field to achieve. One missing link in the chain leads to failure. In the last four years, we have won four conference championships and are currently working towards a fifth! I look forward to playing one of two final seasons with these boys.
My path to and through LBSU has been a windy road. Being a first generation college student, I didn’t have many resources to pull from when applying to college. I worked hard, had a solid GPA, but hadn’t the slightest idea of the college process. I knew I wanted to go away for school, but I didn’t know where. Fortunately I found the CSU website just weeks before the deadline and applied to a few of the schools. The only thing I knew about Long Beach was that it was down the 405 from my hometown, and the Freedom Writers were from there. Safe to say I took a leap of faith and committed to LBSU in the spring of 2012—I hadn’t the slightest idea of what was in store.
For the longest time, I wanted to work for the FBI so I found it fitting to enter LBSU as a Criminal Justice major. After spending a year taking classes, networking with officers, and eventually declaring CRJU, I realized I didn’t want to pursue law enforcement. I began thinking less about what I felt I had to do, and more about what I’m passionate about. This mind frame lead me to become a KIN major, due to my passion for health and wellness. I started with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and Leadership, but eventually changed to Fitness.
The switch into KIN-Fitness was a slow and steady one in terms of my level of understanding and comfortability with the material. Coming from a Social Science background, I wasn’t accustomed to studying sciences such as Anatomy and Physiology. Over the course of a year, I endured the discomfort and eventually mastered the material, while adopting a more scientific frame of thinking.
I met Dr. Ayla Donlin, Director of the LifeFit Center @ the Beach, while taking KIN 218 Intro to the Fitness Industry. Listening to Dr. Donlin speak about her road through academia and the Fitness Industry immediately grabbed my attention. We spoke multiple times thereafter about her experience, my academic goals, and professional pursuits. She helped me navigate my possibilities and eventually offered me a position at the LifeFit Center @ the Beach, a community wellness facility for older adults. I am now the Undergraduate Student Assistant/Service Desk Lead. Through this role, I have been afforded the opportunity to, participate in a community wellness program for underserved adults in North Long Beach, collaborate with faculty and staff within the College of Health and Human Service, volunteer for things such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation Triathlon in La Jolla, and learn the inner-workings of facility management. Dr. Donlin continues to provide opportunities for professional growth. I will be serving as a Research Assistant for a Mixed Method Fall Prevention study examining balance, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility in the older adult population. Most, recently I have started working as a Personal Fitness Trainer at the LifeFit Center. This will lend itself to my future goals after LBSU.
I plan to fulfill my final internship at Velocity Sports complex during my final undergrad semester. This will prepare me to take my National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, which may lead to a full-time position as a Strength and Conditioning coach.
I also plan to continue my education in pursuit of a Master of Science degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition. During this time will work at the LifeFit Center as Personal Fitness Trainer and, if afforded the opportunity, a position on the leadership team.
My long-term goal is to gain experience as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. I will then open my own Strength and Conditioning Facility that will incorporate Exercise Physiological principles and testing.
I have aspired to be a fireman for some time now and have earned my Emergency Medical Technician Certification. Although fire service is one of my career goals, I have decided to put it on hold to pursue my degrees.
