MURFREESBORO – A Tusculum University junior who will pursue a career as a physical therapist has earned a statewide honor for her excellence in service and leadership and for engaging in a healthy lifestyle.
Helena Walts, center, holds her trophy and certificate as she is flanked, left to right, by Dr. David Bow, professor of sport science; her mother, Elizabeth Walts; her father, Kevin Walts; and Angelo Botta, assistant professor of sport science.
Helena Walts recently received the James E. Ward Future Professional Honor Award from the Tennessee Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance during the organization’s annual convention. Supported by Tusculum’s Sport Science Department faculty, Walts was selected from the field of candidates nominated by Tennessee higher education institutions that offer academic programs in the disciplines TAHPERD represents.
“We are extremely proud and thrilled for Helena and her phenomenal accomplishments as a Tusculum student,” said Dr. Miriam Stroder, dean of College of Education. “Through her various activities, Helena exemplifies the civic engagement and caring Christian environment principles of our mission and deserves this award. She is an outstanding representative of Tusculum, and we are confident she will emerge from her studies as a career-ready professional.”
Walts is majoring in sport science pre-physical therapy and is a member of Tusculum’s women’s soccer team. She sports a 4.0 grade point average and has won Tusculum’s Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award two straight years. After graduating from Tusculum, she plans to attend physical therapy school.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this award and represent Tusculum,” Walts said. “I just want to thank my teachers, especially Dr. Bow, Dr. Byrd and Coach Botta for nominating me, making it possible and for all of the support they have given me so far at Tusculum. There were a lot of great schools and candidates nominated, and I look forward to working with them and TAHPERD within my career in the future.”
Viewpoint from her professors
Dr. David Bow, professor of sport science, nominated Walts. As part of the nomination, he was joined by Dr. Suzanne Byrd, chair of the Sport Science Department, and Angelo Botta, assistant professor of sport science, in sharing their perspectives with TAHPERD about Walts’ many strengths.
“Helena Walts is an exemplary role model for her peers,” Dr. Bow said. “She is an Honors Program student who performs excellent academic work in her classes. She is an outstanding athlete, who is physically fit and practices good health habits. She applies great effort to any task she attempts. Helena will be a successful professional in our field.”
Botta called her a leader in her classes who is always available to assist her fellow students. He has observed her 72 hours of clinical experience at Workout Anytime Morristown and said her personal training certification proves she wants to excel in the pre-physical therapy program at Tusculum.
Dr. Byrd described Walts as kind and helpful. She has watched Walts successfully balance her class assignments, service work and athletics. She credits her with incredible critical thinking skills and compliments her for not taking shortcuts with any of her obligations.
“Helena is quietly driven to be highly successful in all areas of her life,” Dr. Byrd said. “Her willingness to include others in collaborative activities, prepare herself personally and sacrifice for the good of all is an exemplar of her dedication to excellence, especially academically. This preparation demonstrates a young person who understands what she needs to do to be ready for graduate school and to represent her profession.”
Walts’ community involvement and lifestyle
As part of the nomination, Walts outlined her activities. She cited her work during Tusculum’s Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day, partnering with children at First Presbyterian Church in Greeneville to make winter decorations, teaching soccer skills to students at Tusculum View Elementary, reading children’s books to a local elementary school class and volunteering at the Greene County Humane Society.
Walts also participates in the Students Pray on Thursdays ministry at Tusculum Baptist Church. During the last academic year, she and the others in the group created shoeboxes for children and wrapped and packaged soap for missions in Haiti.
Helena Walts receives her certificate and trophy from Derek Zachary, TAHPERD president.
When she was in high school, she founded a club called Athletes Involved More, which focused on helping student-athletes connect with and give back to the community. The club participated in multiple activities, such as volunteering for a local soup kitchen and at a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event. She set up the club to continue to give back after graduation, and among its activities have been collecting shoes for children in countries such as Haiti and Honduras and a community clothing drive.
Walts detailed her healthy lifestyle, noting she does not drink, smoke or take drugs. She said she tries to avoid fried foods and is active throughout the year, going to the gym, running, completing home workouts and hiking. She stays hydrated and endeavors to sleep seven or eight hours a night.
“I believe a healthy lifestyle also includes your mentality and one’s happiness,” Walts said in the nomination. “I make a point to go up to people that are alone, the elderly, veterans or who just look like they are having a bad day and try to make a compliment about their hair, what they are wearing or something to make them smile. This not only adds to my health by making me feel good, but I can tell that each time I do this, I leave the person with a smile on his or her face. It is sort of like paying it forward, but more just trying to make each person realize he or she is special.”
The next step for Walts is to compete for the national award presented by The Society for Health and Physical Educators in March.
Walts is the second person from Tusculum to be selected as the statewide winner. The other was Dr. Simon Holzapfel, who graduated from Tusculum in 2011 as a sport science major and is now clinical associate professor in Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions and founder and director for the Adaptive Exercise Program. He is being inducted Saturday, Nov. 4, into Tusculum’s Sports Hall of Fame.
More information about Tusculum is available at www.tusculum.edu.