Many students at Pepperdine find different ways to get their endorphins in daily. Not only does staying active provide something to do, but students said they fit movement into their routines day in and day out.
Senior Anna Burkman said her ways of staying active during college are a way for her to connect with nature often and feel balanced. Malibu has natural resources for students to explore movement, such as state beaches, hiking trails and neighborhood roads to go for a run or walk. Additionally, Pepperdine Campus Recreation offers group fitness classes for students on campus.
“I’m in love with nature and I have to be outside,” Burkman said. “It’s so motivating and creates balance.”
Junior Luke Parlee said he incorporates movement into his daily routine by walking to class at the Center for Communication and Business instead of taking the shuttles. Pepperdine’s hilly landscape provides a way for students to get some movement by simply walking to class.
Ways Students Stay Active
Many students said they take advantage of Pepperdine’s location on the coast as well as the amenities on campus to draw inspiration from an active lifestyle.
“Every day, bare minimum, I do a strength training workout,” senior Amanda Kiang said. “I try to swim three to four times a week. Swimming feels homey and is my way of de-stressing.”
Kiang said she swims multiple times weekly during open lap swim hours at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on campus.
Movement can be a way for students to structure their day and connect to the activities they enjoy back at home. During the semester, Parlee said he engages in surfing and hiking to take advantage of Pepperdine’s location.
Motivation
Students source their motivation to stay active in different ways. Between the beaches, scenic trails, canyon and L.A. cityscape, Malibu provides many outlets for students to draw inspiration for movement from the outdoors.
“Here in Malibu at Pepperdine, I enjoy hiking, walking, swimming, playing tennis, playing pickleball with friends and now going to the gym,” Burkman said.
Burkman said she found enjoyment in these activities because they build community.
Community is a huge aspect of Pepperdine’s culture and can be found among others who also love to stay active. Doing a workout at the Pepperdine Fitness Center with her friends makes Burkman feel like she is part of that community, she said.
Parlee said he loves surfing because of the social experience and describes it as an escape.
Kiang, too, said she found enjoyment in her activities on campus because of the social aspect.
“I fell in love with it [swimming] because I found community in it,” Kiang said.
Students said theyhave found that community is what brings them and their ways of staying active together. Community can be the primary source of motivation for the challenge in staying active.
Where it Began
Many students said they began their active lifestyles before arriving in Malibu.Parlee said he started surfing as a little kid in New Jersey.
Burkman said she grew up in Hawai’i and always had an active lifestyle playing tennis, as her mom was her high school tennis coach. She said she enjoyed tennis so much she wanted to keep incorporating tennis into her lifestyle here at Pepperdine.
Evolution from High School
Students said in high school, a set structure and routine made movement possible. Burkman said that now, in college, there is more free time and choice in one’s daily routine.
“Now in college, it [movement] is for me and makes me feel good,” Burkmansaid.
Kiang said staying active in college requires a lot of adjustment and flexibility compared to the structure of the daily schedule in high school. She said sometimes the hours of campus facilities change abruptly, so she has to be flexible and pivot.
In college, because students said they often find themselves creating their own schedule, they choose to incorporate movement into their daily routines for the purpose of maintaining mental health.
Students found that forms of movement can be different for everybody and may take time to discover.By letting their forms of movement go with the flow and evolve in these ways, students said they have found balance and community in their college experience.
“You can make it [movement] what you want it to be,” Parlee said.
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Email Samantha Wareing: samantha.wareing@pepperdine.edu
