Patty Donohue Ebach
Name: Patty Donohue Ebach
Degree: Master's
Program: Movement Science
Graduation Year: 1985
Current Job Title: Recreation Manager, Fitness Center & Sports Dome, Schoolcraft College
Tell us about what you have done since you graduated.
I'm still working in the field over 32 years later. I've mostly been in management roles my entire career -Wolverines are leaders! I've managed wellness, fitness, and recreation facilities (YMCA, Corporate, Education-Campus Fitness) big and small. I taught college-level fitness, nutrition, stress management, and wellness classes for six years at two community colleges as well. I love the energy in our field and I do like managing people, spaces and programs.
I am married with three kids, and it's challenging with a husband and oldest daughter who are Spartan alumni! I volunteer - a lot. For the past five years, I have been coordinating all concessions (three separate concessions in nine sports) for Northville High School. I am currently on the board of the Greater Northville Alumni Association, and I am past chair of the Kinesiology Alumni Board.
The best part about the Kinesiology program then is its size and intimacy. Still relatively small, it's a very collaborative environment where students, as diverse as they actually might be, have a common interest in sport, fitness, health, and helping other people!
Tell us a bit about your experience in the Movement Science master's program.
The notion of physical education was changing and morphing into more than just having the option to teach health and physical education in an elementary, middle, or high school upon graduation. There seemed to be lots of potential options to pursue a career as a professional working in the up and coming fitness/exercise/wellness field (fitness centers, corporate fitness, which was becoming a "thing," wellness programs, medical-based fitness programs and facilities, cardiac rehab, etc.). I loved all of my classes! Exercise physiology, nutrition, exercise leadership, facility management, etc. The focus of so many was on lifestyle and how it impacts the health, longevity, and quality of life for people and how we can, as exercise professionals, intervene to help our clients, members, or others achieve their health and fitness and quality of life goals.
So my experience with the Kinesiology program was the excitement of being a part of a degree that was exploring some new and evolving concepts in health & fitness and was really at the forefront in many ways of this emerging field of study. Additionally, being around passionate and renowned professors that were doing meaningful research, writing books, and imparting all of that knowledge on us as their eager students were really about as good as it could get!
In your opinion, what’s the best part about the program?
The best part about the Kinesiology program then (and I hope now, too) is its size and intimacy. Still relatively small, it's a very collaborative environment where students, as diverse as they actually might be, have a common interest in sport, fitness, health, and helping other people! That's really at the core for a lot of it - learning to help people be better physically and emotionally, and reach their physical goals through your knowledge as a professional.
I also like all of the different ways a graduate can go with their career with a degree in Kinesiology. I have spent my career in management, fitness facilities, wellness programs, corporate programs, etc. Athletic training, sport management, lifestyle coaching, fitness and exercise consultation, and research are also very viable options that students and then graduates can focus on or explore.
What would you like prospective students to know about the program?
It's a field with a lot of opportunities. You can do so many things! Stay the course, keep your passion, network, and you will find success. "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."
How has your Kinesiology degree contributed to your success?
I'm proud of the fact that I came along at a time when Kinesiology was an infant and was just starting its journey as an actual school. When I was there, "Kinesiology" was in the School of Education and it was "Physical Education." It then became its own division and finally its own school. Sport Management as a major didn't really exist. My niche was exercise science and that academic background, coupled with work experience in working with Campus Rec while I was a student helped me shape the choices I made with my career. The mid-eighties were a great time to be getting into the field of fitness.
I have stayed in this field in one way or another for 30+ years. I have never regretted one moment and have thoroughly enjoyed the ride - still do! Happy and proud to call myself a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology!