by Craig DeVrieze
Coaching Students to Endure, Succeed
S
omewhere in the middle of a 50-kilometer cross country ski race, the hands and feet begin to sting from the cold, the lungs ache from exhaustion, the hamstrings scream from the exertion, and any sane person begins to question the wisdom of pushing on. Life—and school—can sometimes feel like an endurance race, as well. In each case, Darla Baumgarten—a former competitive cross-country skier and coach and a current assistant professor of kinesiology at St. Ambrose— exhorts her students to endure. To push on. To succeed. Eight years into a career in higher education for which she said she always felt destined, Baumgarten carries an established reputation as a knowledgeable and engaging instructor, as well as a compassionate and perceptive student adviser. “Darla is loved by the students,” said Suzanne Wiese, the Kinesiology Department’s administrative assistant. “She is just really all there for the students’ success.” Mark Brauweiler ’13 graduated cum laude in May with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and human performance and fitness. He said Baumgarten brings her endurance coaching mentality to the classroom. And, as his adviser, he
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