Tara Richardson

One of the main reasons I like my exercise and sport science major is because Western State is in an amazing natural environment that is perfect for conducting research.  I'm really interested in the effects altitude has on athletic performance and there is no better place than our University at nearly 8,000 feet to do that.  Also, there are some of the greatest endurance athletes located in the Gunnison valley that have been helpful in being subjects for research.  The exercise and sport science classes are very hands on and professors allow students access to the HAP Lab where we can work on class exercises or work on projects that we are personally interested in.

A Clinical ESS major and pre-allied health biology major are very compatible together.  It is really cool to be able to understand how the environment or other factors such as altitude affect the body and therefore affect athletic performance. 

With small class sizes professors can give each student individual attention.  Also with few students we are able to get out of the classroom every now and then and take field trips to do more hands on learning.  In one of my biology classes I was the " guiniea pig" and had to run up to the water towers behind the school so we could measure oxygen saturation differences before and after exercise.

WSCU is right for me because because I have good one-on-one relationships with my professors.  It's also right for me because of all of the outdoor activities that I can do here in Gunnison. I like skiing and climbing I also like to run. I also like the small community feel here in Gunnison because I’d feel overwhelmed in a big city.

I decided to attend WSCU because I am originally from Wiggins Colorado, which is a small town that is similar in size to Gunnison. I am also an athlete and I wanted to run cross-country and track here at WSCU because they are excellent programs.

On campus I run cross-country and track and I am also in the Academic Leadership Program Scholarship (ALPS).

After graduating from WSCU I am looking at going to graduate school in Exercise and Physiology.