Major: BS Wellness Management MS Physical Therapy DPT Doctorate of PT
Hometown: Sundance, WY
Current Town: Spearfish, SD
Why did you choose BHSU? Honestly, I chose BH because of the proximity to home and the cost, but once I got there and got involved in the academics and with athletic training I loved it and didn’t want to leave.
In your experience, what do you see as the most beneficial aspect of the Exercise Science program? The program was versatile and I could walk away with all of the prerequisites I needed for graduate school as well as a degree and training that I could use to find a job if I didn’t get into an advanced program right away.
What is your current job? Physical therapist for Spearfish Regional Rehabilitation
How did BHSU prepare you for your career? Great experience with various sports teams, working in athletic training and seeing the care from acute through rehabilitation back to sport, an excellent science department and foundation. I was able to build relationships with professors that I still talk to today. I was told that BH didn’t have a strong enough science programs to get into graduate school and that could not be further from the truth. When I got to graduate school and started talking with other classmates I had had smaller class sizes taught by real professors, not TAs, and an overall better foundation from the basics up through more advanced classes. Still to this day, through all of my advanced studies, Dr. Lamb’s courses were the most challenging I encountered!
What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshman? Surround yourself with positive motivated students and find an advisor that really helps you plan the next four years so you don’t waste time with classes that won’t get you the credits you need or put you closer to your goal of getting a good education in the shortest time possible.
BRIAN SHAW
Black Hills State University alumni, Brian Shaw, prepares for the World’s Strongest Man Competition. After graduating in 2004 with a degree in wellness management, Shaw completed a strength and conditioning internship at the University of Arizona. Shaw realized he wasn’t ready to make the athlete-to-coach transition and decided to return home to Colorado in 2005. On a whim, he entered a local amateur strongman contest, Denver’s Strongest Man, and won. “Strongman tests how much muscle you have and how much power you can generate,” he said. “I have to be good at all the events in order to win.” Shaw said he feels blessed to do what he loves, but winning The World’s Strongest Man would be a dream realized. Visit the Rapid City Journal for more information regarding this story.