UHV kinesiology student receives membership into national association
Gary Masculine, a University of Houston-Victoria senior studying kinesiology, received free membership for a year into the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a nonprofit that provides industry-leading certification, research journals, career development services and more to sport science professions around the world.
“It’s an honor to receive a membership into an association that offers a wealth of knowledge,” Masculine said. “I have gone through the website daily to see what new studies are available and learn more about kinesiology that I can use in my career.”
Raymond Tucker, a UHV associate professor of kinesiology, said the association awarded UHV with a one-year membership. The association also awarded three other UHV students with free memberships during the spring semester. Since 2015, the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development has been nationally recognized by the association for its kinesiology programs. Tucker also is a member of the association and said free memberships are awarded to students so that more students can become members.
“The association provides members with access to educational information, workshops, webinars and research to help in professional careers and networking opportunities for students,” Tucker said. “This is a great opportunity for students to not only learn more outside the classroom but meet people in the industry.”
The UHV kinesiology faculty had students apply for the membership. Students were required to include in their application their GPA, career interests, write a letter of interest and answer a questionnaire. Applications were judged by Tucker and two other kinesiology faculty members: Chang Lee and Willie Black Jr., who are both assistant professors.
Masculine was a top candidate for the membership because of his knowledge of kinesiology and his education presentation skills, Black said.
“Gary has an excellent rapport with his peers and exemplary teaching preparation that is challenging and exciting,” Black said. “Gary will make an excellent educator impacting students’ lives for the future.”
Masculine, a Rosenberg resident, is teaching physical education at Lamar Consolidated Independent School District and is completing the clinical teaching portion of his degree plan. He will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology in December. Masculine aims to teach high school basketball and is planning to earn his teaching certifications in math and science.
Masculine has been involved in sports since he was about 5 years old, but it was an incident in high school that made him realize how fragile the human body can be. After tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his knee twice in one year while playing basketball, Masculine realized that training the body was an important part of being a successful athlete.
“It was at that point that I realized how little I knew about the body, and it made me interested in how the body works,” he said. “My goal is to teach athletes how to train safely and how to exercise properly so they don’t go through what I went through. I am looking forward to learning more about safe training and exercises from the association so that I can help athletes achieve their goals.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
