By Isabelle Emmanuel, Staff Reporter

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Temple University, Jillian Harris was unsure of what profession to pursue. To combine her love for teaching with kinesiology, she decided to become a health and fitness teacher. Harris is in her third year at Conestoga and currently teaches Health and Fitness, Personal Fitness, Physical Education (PE), Mind-Body PE and Adaptive PE. 

Q: What inspired you to follow the health and fitness pathway?

A: When I originally started (college), I wanted to be a chiropractor, but I really wanted to do something that I knew I was going to be passionate about, which was working with students and the youth. Since I had a degree in kinesiology, I thought I could be a health teacher and teach about health and wellness to students who would take to it.

Q: Who inspired you to pursue a career as a teacher?

A: My mom’s actually a teacher, and my grandma is a teacher as well. I really like working with people who are younger than me. I had a lot of experiences growing up with teachers who mentored me, and I wanted to be that type of person for students.

Q: What is your favorite part about working with high school students?

A: Students have come to me to talk about anything. I like being that person who kids can come to and act as a confidant for them or help them with the situation.

Q: What are some memorable moments from ’Stoga that you would like to share?

A: I feel like every day is such a different experience. The ninth graders this year have been surprising. They keep me on my toes and help me stay excited to come to school. There’s lots of funny things that happen, sometimes not the best things, but we make the most of it anyway. They’re just a silly group this year.

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise to do when you lift?

A: I’ve been liking squats recently. They’re probably my favorite. I train more for hypertrophy, which is for muscle growth, and overall strength. So any type of strength training, I’ll say, is my favorite type of thing. But mainly squats.

Q: What music do you listen to when working out?

A: I listen to a lot of Meek Mill, Future and Young Thug — any type of rap music to get me in the zone.

Q: What is a fun fact about you that your students might not know?

A: My favorite animal is a giraffe. When I was younger, I watched this dinosaur movie. I loved the dinosaurs that were really short with stubby legs and long necks. I think that’s why I like giraffes. I don’t really know where it came from, but it just happened.

Q: Where is an interesting place you have traveled?

A: I’d say Costa Rica. I went on a mission trip a while ago, so we did a lot of service work with a local orphanage. Afterwards, we had an excursion, which was pretty fun. We went ziplining and things like that. I would go back and experience more of the culture whenever I get the chance to.

Q: How do the lessons you teach in school translate to your own daily life?

A: I’m relatively young, so I think that helps me communicate certain things and letting students know that it’s okay to mess up or it’s okay, nutrition-wise, to enjoy the things you enjoy. Mental health-wise, it’s okay to give yourself a break. I try to live by that myself every day.

Isabelle Emmanuel can be reached at [email protected].