Students become masters in Dillon

Entering Princeton, freshmen anticipate four years of being students. They expect to be engaged intellectually by great scholars. What students may not expect, however, is to become teachers themselves.

Dillon Gymnasium houses an under-appreciated pantheon of learning where students not only "work hard," but "work out hard," too. In addition to offering students the ability to study a diverse array of academic subjects, Princeton also affords students the chance to teach across a range of athletic disciplines. Of the more than 60 instructors of these recreational classes, about 20 are current graduate or undergraduate students.

The determination and achievement commonly attributed to Princeton students academically also characterizes these teachers.

"Some of these instructors teach two classes a day — they're so into it," Office Manager for Campus Recreation Sharon Henderson said. "Time management really comes into play. Give them a lot of credit. They study hard, and they work out hard."

For many of these teachers, their interest in teaching stems from their precollege passions. Junior Katie Lawrence now instructs three spinning classes a week — two 45-minute strength classes during the week and an hour-long interval class on the weekend. Lawrence first began spinning in the off-seasons of high school swimming and lacrosse. This past summer, she became certified and began teaching classes on her own this fall at Dillon.

Lawrence's enthusiasm for spinning is clearly manifested throughout her 45-minute class. Blasting tunes ranging from Bob Marley to Bowling for Soup, Lawrence shouts encouragement to her six students in the small spinning room overlooking Dillon pool.

Senior Erica Pang — a member of Princeton's swim team who has been spinning throughout her collegiate career — attended Lawrence's recent class.

"Music is really important to me when I spin, and students have kind of the same taste in music," Pang said.

For Lawrence and other instructors, teaching classes is the ideal job — affording them the opportunity to do what they love and get paid for it. Lawrence enjoys the opportunity to design her classes and get into a pattern of teaching.

"In the beginning, I made a new CD each class," Lawrence said. "Now ... I try and rotate every once in a while."

As a testament to the dedicated teaching of the student instructors, classes at Dillon remain an important part of many students' lives. Some of the most popular include "Butts 'n' Guts" — which has over 100 registrants — spinning and racquet sports like tennis and squash. Henderson also notes, however, that even classes like ice skating and archery, which seem somewhat obscure on paper, also attract interest. Classes are offered year-round at Dillon, with an abbreviated list of class opportunities in the summer.

Attendance generally peaks at classes early in the semester.

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"The beginning of both the fall and spring semesters, classes are really popular. Everybody's really psyched and motivated," Henderson said, "and then ... attendance seems to dwindle."

In addition to teaching classes individually, students can co-teach classes like "Dillon Hype." BodyHype, one of Princeton's dance troupes, teaches this course, which combines strength-building exercises with dance instruction and performance.

While sophomore BodyHype member Lizzie Craft initially organized the class, the dance-group members share teaching responsibility. Senior Natasha Kalimada noted that teaching other students at Dillon is simply a logical "extension" to BodyHype practices, where the members choreograph and work together on pieces. Kalimada, who has danced with BodyHype since her freshman year, found herself regularly co-instructing classes in the fall, often with a male member of the group, because she enjoyed it so much.

"It was really fun just to see familiar faces in the class, and it's something that I've been doing since high school — teaching dance classes — so it was very familiar for me," Kalimada said.

In fact, students regularly approach the Dillon staff to ask about teaching openings. For instance, Lawrence was inspired to ask the office last spring after taking spinning classes herself.

Interest and experience alone, however, will not guarantee a position teaching classes. In addition to being CPR-certified, students must prove their competence.

"We don't just automatically give them a spot: We meet them, we audition them; if they're at the level they should be at, we hire them," Henderson said. "If they need a little work, we may put them on a sub list or let them grow a little bit into the position."

So, for all the recognized learning and teaching going on in Princeton's academic buildings, an equally admirable process takes place each day in Dillon Gym.

These highly qualified instructors, while lacking tenure like their older academic counterparts, are every bit as passionate about their teaching.