Name: Gillian Whorms
Year: 3
Program: Health Science Hometown: Whitby, ON
Let’s start with everyone’s favourite question, why did you choose Laurier?
Between my top 3 choices (Queen’s, McMaster, and Laurier), it always felt like I was coming home every time I visited Laurier’s campus. Every time I visited another campus, I felt myself comparing it to Laurier’s the entire time I was there. I also have family at both Queen’s and Mac, but none at Laurier, so it felt like an opportunity to start my own adventure here!
Outside of being a fitness guru and an inspiration within the Laurier community, what else do love to do/ find peace in?
Music! I play the violin and my sister and I occasionally do weddings together. We actually played a total of 9 between May and November this year. We play both modern and classical songs, and she’ll play either the viola or guitar depending on what we’re playing! Also, fun fact, I’m playing the violin in the pit band for the Laurier musical, Bye Bye Birdie!
What is your title within the athletics program?
Group Ex Coordinator
How long have you been in your current role?
Technically September, but I started getting involved with the transition from the last coordinator, in terms of communication and scheduling, in May.
What does your role encompass, day to day?
Busy. All the time. Making sure things always run smoothly with instructors if they ever need help before or after their classes, communication with instructors, sending out weekly emails, scheduling, planning trainings and socials for instructors, and working on building a sense of community among instructors and participants (check out the Group Ex Facebook group here)! We also run a mentorship program through Group Ex for hiring new instructors (finding new instructors to fill the roles being left by our beloved graduates). ON TOP OF ALL THAT teaching my own Bootcamp, Powerstep, Gun Show/ Rock Bottom/ Hardcore, and Cyclefit classes. Phew!
Damn, this girl is #KillinIt
How has your experience in the health and fitness industry thus far helped shape your career goals?
I’ve always been very health and wellness focused throughout my life, and group exercise/ fitness is obviously one avenue that I could take. However, I’m also interested in potentially pursuing nutrition or preventative wellness (similar to health promotion) as that is also a large part of my life!
What’s your favorite cheat food?
Chocolate covered almonds!
Gimme your ‘go-to’ fun fact about yourself
Well, I actually don’t drink coffee at all and that shocks a lot of people. Mostly because I don’t like the taste, but also upon entering university many people told me I’d never make it through my undergrad without it, so I decided to take that on as sort of a challenge! However, I do love decaf, herbal, and cinnamon flavored teas.
What is the title (as of today, since this might change) of your dream job?
I can’t give you an exact title, but this summer I actually thought about how sweet it would be to open a sort of health promotion/ nutrition/ fitness resort. With like, tons of studios and a kitchen, and provide retreat opportunities to groups and individuals interested in exploring the power of wellness. I picture this resort with multiple studios for yoga, Cyclefit, meditation – you get the idea. I also love to imagine that there would be a kitchen for nutrition and meal preparation classes!
I’ve also thought about working within the government public health sector in sort of a preventative measures and health promotion role!
What do you hope to accomplish within Group Ex at Laurier before you graduate?
My main goal for this year is to build a safe, inclusive community for participants and increase the number of the participants overall. I hope that I can help make them feel like they belong to something bigger than just being a group ex pass holder. In addition, I’m also working on building that same dynamic among the instructors as well, so that we just have this one big healthy and happy community within Laurier that is widely accessible to everyone. We’ve also put extra emphasis on integrating the Group Ex and Dance instructor teams this year!
If I’m still Group Ex coordinator next year, I will have to take a look at what did and didn’t work this year and reevaluate my goals for the program when the time comes!
What is your favourite part of working within Laurier Athletics?
So many things. First, the office atmosphere, the people I get to work with, and those I’ve met through this position (such as instructors and other student leaders). I’ve always felt comfortable in gyms, but this facility in particular feels like a safe space that I can call home. I am honestly just so proud to represent the department and love to flaunt my Laurier Athletics and Recreation swag! This role has also given me leadership, organizational, problem solving, and supervisory experience that I feel is pretty unique for a student position.
What can we, the Laurier community, expect from Group Ex for the rest of the year?
Well, we always have tons of fun things going on! For starters, there’s the Dance Showcase on December 3rd from 12-6pm. We’re also hosting “Zumba for the Cure” on December 5 from 7-8pm in the Turret – it’s $5 to get in and ALL proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society!
In addition, as of December 3rd, we will be starting the “Give the Gift of Fitness” initiative, where passes for next semester will be sold at early bird pricing ($78.00 + tax!) until Saturday January 13. Free week will run Sunday January 7 to Friday January 12 this year, so there’s plenty of time to try out all of our different classes before buying your pass! Instructors will start checking passes as of the 14th and passes will go back to regular price until midterms.
Next semester we will also be running another “Invest in Yourself” week from January 29th – February 2nd. This week-long initiative, hosted by the Athletics and Recreation department, aims to show you the value of self-care and the multitude of ways we can invest in ourselves and make wellness a priority! Some examples of events that happen during this week are free Group Ex classes, therapy dogs, nutrition talks, mindful meditation, and recipe ideas. Make sure you’re following Laurier Recreation on Facebook and Instagram for full details!