UTEP Center for Health and Human Performance to Expand Programming, Student Training Opportunities

Published January 31, 2025
By Darlene Muguiro
UTEP College of Health Sciences

Dr. Jeffrey Eggleston, associate professor of Kinesiology and director of the Center for Health and Human Performance (CHHP), has big plans for expanding the center’s services and learning opportunities for Kinesiology students.

CHHP plays an integral role in the Department of Kinesiology’s internship rotations, pairing undergraduate Kinesiology student interns with clients in targeted sessions focused on building strength, agility and balance. The experiences are designed to build students’ professional skillsets, providing invaluable opportunities to apply textbook information to real-life situations.

“While the department’s curriculum gives students foundational information, courses simply cannot teach them the nuances of working with people,” Eggleston said. “Being in this type of environment forces our students to think critically about how to apply information and to make decisions based on what they think is best for our clients in a particular scenario.”

Eggleston says CHHP’s programming is designed to be inclusive and safe, as each client’s health history and fitness level are reviewed prior to their being accepted as a client. The center’s hierarchical system provides an additional safety net where students can make mistakes and learn – graduate students from the Masters in Kinesiology program supervise the undergraduate interns during training sessions.

Anilu Vega, a 2024 MS KIN graduate and current lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology, got her professional start as a CHHP intern. While there, she learned how to tailor exercise interventions to individuals with chronic health conditions, which led to amazing outcomes in their quality of life.

“One of my first clients was able to be taken off of diabetes medication within a month of starting at CHHP,” she said. “And the doctor for another current client is referring his other patients to CHHP now for the health benefits based on the results he’s seeing during their office visits.”

One current CHHP client, Juan “Chaco” Mena, chose the center because of its inclusive programming. Mena, who is legally blind, was brought to CHHP by his son-in-law. After visiting the center, Mena felt comfortable in the setting and the offered accommodations. Now going into his seventh year of membership, he is one of CHHP’s greatest advocates.

“The interns and supervisors go out of their way to help me participate, and it’s helped me so much physically,” he said. “I enjoy meeting with different types of people, and learning about what’s going on with the younger generation. Now, I wake up every day and I can’t wait to go to the center.”

Based on its past successes and demand for services, CHHP is looking to grow both its client base and student intern pool. In the future, Eggleston envisions expanding the center’s programming beyond its historically older adult base in order to provide students additional opportunities to apply their skills in different settings.

“I would love to create speed and agility camps for youth athletes in our community,” he said. “I believe this would be another opportunity for our students to apply what they have learned throughout their curriculum, but into a very different population.”

Go Miners!

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For more information about the Center for Health and Human Performance, please visit: https://www.utep.edu/chs/chhp/