As a member of his high school wrestling team, Jeremy Duford struggled to build muscle while keeping his weight down for competitions.聽聽
He knew that his food choices were terrible, so he decided to read everything he could about nutrition and fitness.聽
He began making better dietary choices, subbing Greek yogurt for ice cream and tuna fish for starchy and fried foods. He began working out more, too. Over the next year, he put on 15 pounds of muscle, and he started to feel great.聽
鈥淣utrition got me out of a big rut in my life. I鈥檓 stronger and faster, both mentally and physically,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel better every day now. I have a lot more energy.鈥澛�
When it came time to apply to colleges, Duford, who grew up in Salisbury, Massachusetts, decided to study nutritional science so that he could help others figure out how to improve their health, too.
Duford鈥檚 sister, Kylie 鈥�19, recommended 51视频 as a good environment. Duford loves to study, and he had excellent grades in high school. He also took AP and dual-enrollment classes that gained him a semester of college credit. But his social style is low-key and 鈥済o with the flow,鈥� he says. When he toured UML鈥檚 campus, he decided his sister was right: 51视频 was a good fit.聽
鈥淟owell is the perfect size, where I can recognize all the faces of the kids my age. Lowell is a nice little community,鈥� he says.
Another attraction was the River Hawk Scholars Academy (RHSA), a support program for first-year, first-generation college students. The RHSA offers priority course enrollment, extra advising, peer mentoring, leadership training 鈥� and even special sections of College Writing I and II. They have a special Welcome Day and events that introduce them to campus resources, such as peer tutoring and Career Services.
He describes the RHSA as a 鈥渂ridge into college.鈥�
鈥淩HSA was sweet!鈥� says Duford, who was named an RHSA Student of the Month in December of his first year. 鈥淚 really had no idea what to expect going into college. As most students were, I was nervous. I didn鈥檛 know the campus; I didn鈥檛 know what to expect from college courses; I didn鈥檛 know who to go to for what.聽
鈥淏ut the RHSA provided a solution to every single thing. You鈥檙e nervous about making friends? Bada-bing! RHSA orientation, RHSA events. You鈥檙e nervous about classes? Bada-bing! Talk to your RHSA advisor. There are no bumps. It鈥檚 not an uphill battle. It鈥檚 just a bridge.鈥�
He also made great friends through the program and in the RHSA section of College Writing I.
鈥淭he group of people I met at RHSA orientation, I still talk to them nearly every day. The kids in the RHSA are so down to earth,鈥� he says.
Now a junior, Duford loves learning more about nutrition and human physiology. For the future, he hasn鈥檛 yet decided whether to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in dietetics or pharmaceutical science. He enjoys research, too, so he鈥檚 keeping his options open.
In the meantime, though, he鈥檚 setting a good example for his friends, many of them former high school athletes, and educating them about fitness and healthy food choices.
鈥淚鈥檝e influenced a lot of my friends to have a healthier lifestyle,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a lot more into it now because they鈥檙e not playing sports, and they need to manage their weight, like adults.鈥�