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Published December 6, 2024
By Darlene Muguiro
Â鶹¹ÙÍø College of Health Sciences

This December, three CHS students will serve in honorific roles at the Fall 2024 commencement ceremony at the Don Haskins Center. These students were selected for their positions based on academic achievement, extracurricular participation, and community and University service. Our second story features Anilu Vega, Graduate Student Marshal for the College of Health Sciences.

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Anilu Vega, a candidate for the Master of Science in Kinesiology degree, says that an important conversation with counselors at El Paso Community College, where she began her academic journey, led her to the field of kinesiology.

“I mentioned that I wanted to go into health care, but I really didn’t have the stomach to be a nurse or doctor, so I asked if there was anything else I could consider, and that’s when they suggested looking into kinesiology as a potential pathway to physical therapy,” she said.

Vega’s plan after transferring to Â鶹¹ÙÍø was to pursue her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and then a doctor of physical therapy degree, but her plans quickly changed when she began interning at the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Center for Health and Human Performance (CHHP) her senior year. As she became closer to the center’s clients through exercise training sessions, she discovered her true passion for strength and conditioning, a field that will allow her to tailor interventions according to each client’s health status and goals. Vega says she feels most proud of the tremendous impact the workout sessions at CHHP have on the clients’ overall wellbeing, and in certain cases, specific health conditions.

“One of my first clients was able to be taken off of diabetes medication within a month of starting at CHHP,” she said. “And the doctor for another current client is referring his patients there because this client’s health is now optimal.”

While juggling school and a small family business, Vega also volunteered at her church. Shortly after graduating from the BS in Kinesiology program and transitioning into her master’s degree, she learned she would soon become a mother. The tremendous stress of managing multiple priorities began impacting her grades, so Vega and her husband made the difficult decision to close the business so she could focus on her education.

Vega is currently interning at Â鶹¹ÙÍø Athletics, and says she enjoys the variety of assignments and “extreme and fast-paced environment” working with athletes across all Â鶹¹ÙÍø sports teams. As a supervisor at CHHP, she also serves as a mentor to undergraduate students working with the clients. She says the support of her extended family has been critical, allowing her to complete long days that start at 4:00 a.m.

“I really do have the village it takes to be successful,” she said.

Vega says that her parents, who came to the U.S. from Mexico City, have inspired her to always do her best. Her father was an orthopedic surgeon and her mother was a nurse, and neither spoke English when they arrived. Despite not having a license to practice medicine in the U.S., they built a successful life, eventually opening several nursing homes. Their expectations for their three children were high, and Vega learned to “not even turn in one assignment late.” She also began working with her parents to offer free health conferences at their church.

After graduation, Vega plans to pursue a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification and a career as a tactical strength coach, working with the armed forces. She says that the first thing she’ll do after commencement, though, is “sleep.”

“I’ve pulled so many all-nighters, and people assumed that the baby was keeping me up, but it was just a lot of homework and everything else going on in my life,” she said. “As I entered my last semester, I was studying tenfold. So, at this point, I think I just need a nap.”

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Go Miners!

For more information about the Master of Science in Kinesiology Program, please visit: /chs/kinesiology/academic-programs/graduate/graduate-program.html