Introduction
Bard College Community Fitness Coordinator Tyrin Stevenson will begin offering an online fitness class to LLI members later this month. You will receive details about this class closer to its start date.
Sponsored by the Bard College Health and Wellness Education Department and LLI, the class will provide our members with both strength and cardiovascular training. Weekly 45-minute sessions will be available through a YouTube link that will be emailed to our members weekly.
We wanted to find out more about recent Bard College graduate Ty Stevenson who will be helping us stay fit while we are at home. He generously shared his background, his life at Bard, and how he went from majoring in philosophy to being a fitness coordinator.
Life Before Bard
I was raised in a lower-income neighborhood in New Orleans with my grandmother. I was a charismatic anti-fitness star student – salutatorian of my class, student of the year, nationwide National History Day contender, president of three clubs, working all day student (even had a program on the local TV network). Outside of school life, I spent all of my time with my very, very large family.
I actually did not know Bard existed until I won the Posse Scholarship (a leadership-merit based scholarship). The Posse Director of New Orleans urged me to leave New Orleans to “test my growth.” She was exactly right. Bard was a test of survival, nothing new to my life, I thought. I soon realized that my Bard journey was transcending my normal notions of survival. Bard was a test of emotional and intellectual survival, completely restructuring my perceived position in the world –sounds dramatic, I know.
Majoring in Philosophy
I love humans. I have a deep-seated urge to study our species, the universe that we inhabit, the values that we create, and other myriad topics. I am a critical thinker through and through, forming connections in the world and identifying useful patterns to apply to my life. Philosophy at Bard padded this feverish appetite for knowledge and understanding with progressive outlooks on history. Five minutes into my first philosophy class, I knew the philosophy program would do just that.
Interest in Physical Fitness
I actually hated physical fitness until coming to Bard. Being from New Orleans, I was exposed to arguably some of the best dishes in the world for 18 consecutive years. Bard’s dining halls were just not doing it for me. I lost 15 pounds in just a few months from lack of eating. One of my friends suggested I exercise to increase my appetite. I loathed the thought, but I went to the Athletic Center. Sure enough, my appetite (and muscles) grew! I exercised religiously every day at 6 p.m., so my friends began using me as a support system to get into a scheduled workout. Next thing I know, I’m teaching them my workouts. Strangers are asking to join the group. Anonymous admirers are changing the Athletic Center’s name to my name on Google Maps. It’s wild how drastic the transformation has been!
Community Fitness Coordinator
My calisthenics group of about 40 revolving members meeting daily filled a need at the college. My program seeks to fill this gap in resources and support available to non-athletes. That program, and my other work at the college, led me to propose the position of Community Fitness Coordinator to the college.
The position is tripartite. One, I work with the Athletic Center to make initiatives and resources for all students regardless of NCAA status. Two, I work with the Office of Student Activities to imbue more physical events in their programming and more recreational outlets. Three, I work with Wellness and other departments to strengthen health initiatives on campus.
Goals for LLI Members
As with everyone I train, the goal is to reclaim our bodies with our bodies (not a typo). I believe everyone can be physically strong in their way. I aim to help the LLI membership feel capable and surprise themselves with their ability. The course can provide both strength training and cardiovascular work, but that will depend on the participant.
My other hobbies include studying politics, religion, and philosophy, playing video games, exercising (obviously), kendo (sword training), listening to music, and absorbing a loooooooot of pop culture (movies, TV, comics, etc.)
We look forward to Ty joining us as a presenter for our fall semester.
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