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“Huntington showed me the ‘Big Picture’ in that life is more than
getting a degree and then finding a well paid job. It taught me the importance of finding joy in what I do and to
rely on God.” |
Fred
Miller may have left the Indiana heartland for New Mexico and
Texas, but he hasn’t left the classroom. Miller, a native of
Lagro, Ind., and a 2000 Huntington grad, has already finished a second
degree and is fast approaching the completion of a third.
While at Huntington, Miller earned his B.S. in
Exercise Science and
balanced his studies with his athletic endeavors; he managed to
participate in four sports at Huntington University, including
cross country, golf, track and field, and baseball. Now an avid
marathon runner, Miller is also going the distance in his
education. After graduating from Huntington, Miller headed to Eastern
New Mexico University in Portales, N.M., to pursue a master’s
degree in physical education.
From ENMU, Miller then traveled to Houston, Texas, where he is
currently in his third year at the University of Houston,
working on his Ph.D. in Kinesiology. He is also a teaching
fellow for the Health and Human Performance Department at UH.
Miller is currently working on a $3.1 million dollar study
called TIGER (Training Interventions and Genetics of Exercise
Response Study) at UH. At the Baylor College of Medicine he
works on another study called FLOW (Family Lifestyle Overweight
Prevention). Miller is also an adjunct instructor at Houston
Community College and San Jacinto College.
Miller hopes his continued education, coupled with the
foundation he laid at Huntington, will prepare him for a
classroom of his own. He says his Huntington professors provided the
model for the kind of professor he hopes to be and gave him a
spiritual perspective on his academic field.
“The professors in my field of exercise science instructed in a
way that taught me to care about my job, co-workers, and
environment from a Christian perspective,” says Miller. “They
taught me that relationships are important and to always follow
what God would want, not what the world desires. One day, I want
to be a professor and teach from a Christian perspective, and
Huntington
has taught me how.”
“Huntington showed me the ‘Big Picture’ in that life is more than
getting a degree and then finding a well paid job,” Miller adds.
“It taught me the importance of finding joy in what I do and to
rely on God.”
Miller says the learning culture created at Huntington inspired him to
go to graduate school.
“Without Huntington, I don’t think I would have pursued my Ph.D.,” says
Miller. “The friendly, fun, and Christian environment at Huntington
allowed me to see learning as enjoyable and important. This is
one reason I am still in college. Because my Huntington education was
good, I was able to get accepted and do well in graduate
school.”
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