Ashlyn Jore ’26 was scrolling through Moodle when she saw the client list posted for Exercise Prescription. She scanned the names once, then again.

“I checked, and I was like, okay, President Singer?” Jore said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I was very excited, but also, of course, nervous. It’s a little bit more pressure.”

This semester, Jore is the personal trainer for St. Olaf College President Susan Rundell Singer through Exercise Prescription, a capstone course pairing senior kinesiology majors with faculty and staff clients. Over 12 weeks, students design four weekly workouts for each client — two supervised sessions and two independent plans — while offering nutrition guidance based on food log analysis.

Jore isn’t the only student navigating how to step into a trainer’s mindset.

Engelina Melgar ’26 is currently training one of her own former professors.

 “She taught us exactly how to do every test,” Melgar said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “So, she knew whether I was doing it right or wrong.”

The semester begins with baseline testing in the Human Performance Lab, including VO₂ max — a test measuring oxygen consumption during a workout — and one-repetition maximum strength tests. The assessments draw directly on years of coursework in anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise physiology.

Melgar, who said she had been looking forward to the course since she became a kinesiology major, emphasized the importance of practicing what is taught in the classroom in a real-world environment. 

“It’s a great way to practice before being fully in the field. You get to build experience and work with faculty,” Melgar said. 

After baseline testing is complete, the shift comes: students step into their role as personal trainers and create plans for their clients. 

“Being able to train them and have full control as the authoritative figure — it’s just so weird,” Melgar said. 

That discomfort is intentional, said Visiting Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Matthew Neuger ’09, who teaches the course. 

“This [course] is kind of the culmination,” he said. “They’re meeting with their client, figuring out their goals, assessing their fitness, and prescribing an exercise program.”

Neuger continued the discussion of the course.

“At the beginning of almost every semester, the students are moderately uncomfortable,” Neuger added. “But the growth and the confidence I’ve seen every single time — that’s really fun.”

For Jore, that growth has meant translating her own experience, which includes eight years of weightlifting, into instruction. 

“For me, [weightlifting] is kind of second nature,” she said. “So being able to put myself in their shoes and understand what it’s like to do this exercise for the first time [is a challenge].”

Rundell Singer, now participating for the second year in a row, embraces the role reversal.

“I’ve worked with students my entire career,” Rundell Singer said in a phone interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I learn so much from students all the time. So for me, it’s easy.”

While she acknowledged that “the title of my job could be a bit much,” she also emphasized that the students “know what they’re talking about.”

Her motivation for returning is rooted in her belief of experiential learning.

“Having real experience in a field related to where you want to go is one of the best things we can offer our students,” Rundell Singer said. “Otherwise, it’s all just what you read and discuss.” 

For Rundell Singer, the benefits have been tangible. As an avid outdoor athlete, she once avoided weight machines. “I will go hiking happily for 50 miles,” she said. “But come inside and use a weight machine — that was just not my thing.”

While the course certainly offers a unique challenge for many students, Melgar says it barely feels like a class. “It’s the best part of my day,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like an assignment. It feels like you’re helping someone become a better version of themselves.”

For Rundell Singer, the pitch to faculty and staff is simple: “Everybody wins.”

And, she added, “It’s fun. Did I mention it’s fun?”