The program’s first graduate will receive his diploma this month.
Will Hachemeister came to Front Range Community College three years ago with a goal of taking his health care career to the next level.
A part-time massage therapist and full-time patient technology technician at UCHealth’s Poudre Valley Hospital, Will had been thinking about going back to school for a few years. Then the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic.
“My work as a massage therapist came to a halt,” he says. “So, I took on more hours at the hospital and got serious about looking into what I’d need to do to become a physical therapist.”
Discovering His Calling
Will’s interest in some type of therapy career started as a teenager. He began his college journey at FRCC after graduating from Rocky Mountain High School in 2013.
“I wasn’t fully college-oriented then, so I decided I needed time to figure out what I wanted to study,” he says. After finishing one semester, he put school on hold and started job searching.
Starting a Health Care Career
In 2014, Will got hired at Poudre Valley Hospital as a nutrition assistant. There, he gained exposure to many different areas of health care and had the opportunity to learn and grow in the nutrition department.
He also decided to go to massage therapy school. “Hands-on learning turned out to be what I needed,” he says.
As Will gained experience, he began to focus on rehabilitative massage therapy. “Clients often told me that the stretches and exercises I was suggesting were also recommended by their physical therapists. That’s what got me thinking about becoming a PT.”
Second Time’s a Charm
After doing extensive research on the admissions requirements of Doctor of Physical Therapy programs, Will enrolled at FRCC in the summer of 2021. Initially, his plan was to pursue an Associate of Science degree.
He chose courses to align with the lower-division requirements of Colorado State University’s bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science—so he could transfer into that program as seamlessly as possible.
A Chance Meeting
At Thanksgiving dinner last year, Will was catching up with James Stevens, a friend of the family. James also happens to be the chair of FRCC’s Department of Integrated Health Services.
“James already knew that I was going to FRCC, but I mentioned that I was planning to transfer to CSU to earn the health and exercise science bachelor’s degree afterward,” Will says. It was a perfect coincidence—unbeknownst to Will, FRCC was in the process of developing a transfer agreement with CSU for that very program.
“It was a pretty happy accident that Will was paving a pathway that we were simultaneously building as a degree offering at Front Range,” says James, who graduated with a master’s in human nutrition from CSU in 2003.
A Path With Multiple Career Options
“FRCC has been expanding its health and wellness programming,” James says. “An associate degree in exercise science makes sense.”
He says it permeates into fields like:
- public health
- corporate health and wellness
- sports medicine and others
“Exercise science can lead a student toward physical therapy like Will is doing, or it can put them on the track for physician assistant school, medical school, nursing school or chiropractic school.”
A Brand-New Associate Degree
In fall 2024, FRCC launched an Associate of Science (AS) degree in exercise science. Students can choose from two degree options:
Both pathways transfer into CSU’s health and exercise science program, where students can earn a bachelor’s degree with either an exercise science concentration or a health promotion concentration.
Although FRCC’s program just started, 34 students have already declared exercise science as their major. This month, Will is set to become the new program’s first graduate. He’ll receive his associate degree in exercise science, sports medicine—as well as a general Associate of Science degree.
A Booming Field
“We’re really excited to be able to meet that demand here in Colorado for more of these types of professionals,” says James. “Our advisors and our integrative health professions outreach team are seeing a lot of interest from prospective students and employers.”
FRCC is also developing a personal training certificate that will serve as a bridge to the AS degree in exercise science. That program will launch in the fall of 2025.
Excited About the Future
Will is looking forward to beginning the next chapter of his story in January 2025 at CSU. Health and exercise science students get to learn in a modern teaching facility with a hands-on learning lab dedicated to teaching biomechanics and physiology classes.
His goal is to finish the bachelor’s degree in three semesters and enter PT school at one of the three doctorate programs in Colorado in the fall of 2026.
“I’m grateful to James for telling me about this program so I could finish with my associate degree in exercise science,” Will says. “That set me up to transfer smoothly to CSU.”
“Overall, I’ve found that Front Range has excellent, passionate faculty who want to set students up for success. I’ve had some truly outstanding teachers who make me excited about the path I am pursuing.”
