Scholarship granted to TAMUK student for the first time
The National Master’s Scholar Award, prestigious and rigorous to earn, is awarded by the American Kinesiology Association (AKA). The process of determining a winner is cutthroat – difficult to say the least. In the history of Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) not one student has had the honor to receive this award, until Jessica Hinojosa.
An Alice High School graduate, Jessica Hinojosa knew by her freshman year of college that she wanted to major in kinesiology. When she arrived at TAMUK she joined the Pre-Physical Therapy Association (PPTH) and soon the Health and Kinesiology Association. After her first semester with PPTH, she became an officer.
To be considered for the award, kinesiology students must find a topic of discussion to research, analyze and write a manuscript of their research and their findings.
Hinojosa began her research her junior year, which took an entire year to complete, and another year to write a manuscript and publish it. She is now in her third semester in her master’s studies and a graduate assistant.
Her research focused on lactates’ response in the recovery in athletes and non-athletes. Volunteers joined in the research by having their lactate assessed.
“They were put through a maximal exercise test to get their vitals,” Hinojosa said. “What I found is that there is a difference between athletes and non-athletes when it comes to recovery after an intense amount of exercise.”
Hinojosa’s research manuscript also recently won a regional award. The manuscript placed third at the Texas American College of Sports Medicine meeting in their student research manuscript competition. She had competed against many doctoral students.
“The AKA national awards program is prestigious. The purpose of these awards is to recognize the top kinesiology students in the nation at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level,” Professor and Chair Dr. Christopher Hearon said.
Students across the nation compete for these few awards. The nominees are at an elite level, making the decision for the winner strenuous. This is a significant win for TAMUK’s Health and Kinesiology department.
“It services notice for us that the top kinesiology master’s student in the nation for 2021 resides at A&M-Kingsville,” Dr. Hearon said.
While the department has had two students win the undergraduate version of this award, this was the first time a master’s student won this award. However, graduate students had reached the finals in the past.
“Our students have proven repeatedly that they can compete and be successful at the highest levels of our field.” Dr. Hearon said.
AKA determines the award winner by their grades, leadership, service to the profession and the community and scholarship. The winner must be a well-rounded, exceptional student.
Assistant Professor and Exercise Science and Pre-Physical Therapy Program Coordinator Dr. Robert J. Kowalsky worked with Hinojosa on her research. Together they took the data she collected and analyzed it and created and fine-tuned the manuscript.
“It’s impressive work by Jess, for a school such as ours. A regional university at the R2 level for scholar pursuits,” Dr. Kowalsky said. “For her to go against students from across the nation from universities that potentially have a lot more resources available to them. It speaks a lot to Jess’s ability and the hard work she put in to secure such an award. It’s not something taken lightly, it’s the first time ever to have a student to be able to do that. Jess is paving the way for students who have yet to come.”
