Linda Jenuwine doesn’t just tell students in her fitness classes how to use an elliptical trainer or dumbbell set for maximum effect, she takes them into the newly remodeled exercise studio in F Building, Center Campus, and works out with them.
“I try to get to know my students and understand their fitness goals,” says Jenuwine, who coaches her students seeking weight loss on how to burn more calories by increasing resistance versus repetitions and shares with them the health-related aspects of regular exercise. “From cardiopulmonary to muscle-strengthening, it’s all part of a healthy lifestyle.”
Jenuwine played softball, volleyball and basketball for Oxford High School and thought she would become a middle school physical education teacher. But, by the time she started college, the dwindling number of available teaching jobs convinced her otherwise. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Health Education and Health Promotion, with a minor in Biology, from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science Degree in Education from Wayne State University. She was working in public health when she accepted a part-time position teaching CPR at Macomb, which led to a full-time professorship in 2003.
“I tell my CPR classes that what they learn here could one day save a life,” says Jenuwine, who has feedback from former students that proves it. “Teaching CPR is a way I can make a difference.”
Jenuwine lives on five acres in Ray Township, where she shares a home (and a workout space) with her husband, Brian, an equipment repairer at Macomb’s East Campus, and their children: Marisa, 17, an artistically inclined high school senior, and Joshua, 14, who plays on a traveling baseball team. Cheering on both of her children is one of the joys of Jenuwine’s life, as is teaching at Macomb.
“I like the interaction with the students,” says Jenuwine, whose CPR classes may include firefighters, police officers, medical assistants, and even an occasional nursing student. “There is such diversity, so many different backgrounds, and I learn from all of them.”
The support she receives from Macomb’s Teaching and Learning Center is “amazing,” says Jenuwine, who began turning to them for technical assistance after receiving certification to teach online. “I hesitated (teaching online) at first, because I really like working hands-on with my students. But, now, I don’t know why I waited so long.”
Macomb recently expanded its Wellness, Health and Exercise curriculum to include two associate degree pathways: Exercise Science and Health and Wellness Promotion. Students who enroll in the latter will benefit from Jenuwine’s eight years of work experience with the Macomb County Health Department, as well as her contagious enthusiasm that will keep them focused on their goals – both health wise and academic.
“I can’t wait to get up in the morning and go to work,” says Jenuwine. “I love this job!”