Kinesiology and Health Promotion: One degree, countless career paths

Traditional kinesiology degrees prepare students for a wide range of careers that help individuals move, recover and perform at their best, including therapy, rehabilitation, training and coaching.

Through its unique integration of health promotion concepts and practices, Sheridan’s Kinesiology program goes even further, unlocking ways for graduates to amplify their impact through leadership of research, education, community initiatives and public policy.

“Health promotion empowers individuals and communities to take greater control of their health through supportive environments, policies and initiatives,” says Dr. Kerry Hately, coordinator of Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences — Kinesiology and Health Promotion degree. “When those principles are combined with a scientific understanding of human movement, our graduates are equipped not only to help individuals achieve personal wellness goals but to also improve public health at the community and population levels.”

Whether they're working with individuals or communities, here are five graduates who continue to leverage their Sheridan education in very different ways:

Brent Wakefield, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science

As a high school student, Brent Wakefield was already spending countless hours reading about training methods, biomechanics, athletic development and any other ways to push the limits of physical capacity. "Pursuing a kinesiology education was not a decision as much as it was a natural extension of the obsession I had with understanding the human body and performance," he says.

Sheridan's degree fueled that obsession, but it also unlocked another aspect of Wakefield's fascination with movement and exercise: its transformative power to profoundly improve quality of life. After graduating from Sheridan in 2012, he studied how early-life nutrition influences bone development while pursuing his master's in kinesiology at Brock University, then earned his PhD in anatomy and cell biology at Western University, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship and is now an Assistant Professor in Western’s School of Kinesiology.

“Sheridan provided a few key ingredients that shaped my academic and professional trajectory. It was an unusually balanced education: practical, scientific and deeply human.”

– Brent Wakefield

"Sheridan provided a few key ingredients that shaped my academic and professional trajectory. It was an unusually balanced education: practical, scientific and deeply human," says Wakefield, who also works as an entrepreneur and kinesiologist focusing on individuals with complex health issues such as osteoarthritis, chronic back pain and medically assisted weight loss.

"The most satisfying part of my work remains working collaboratively with clients. Helping someone regain confidence in their body after years of pain or limitation never really loses its meaning."

Martina Greco, Education

Martina Greco transferred to Sheridan from university because she craved more hands-on opportunities to apply her kinesiology knowledge. "I wanted to become a physiotherapist or work in rehabilitation," she says, "and knowing I would have many applied learning opportunities at Sheridan was a key factor in my decision to join the program."

Those opportunities did ultimately influence Greco's career, though not in the way she anticipated. "When I arrived at Sheridan, I didn't know much about Health Promotion, other than I was certain that I didn't want to work in that field," Greco recalls. "But through the program's course work, mentorship and experiential learning opportunities, I became more and more curious about health promotion programming, from development to evaluation, and discovered where I could best make an impact in a way that aligned with my skills."

“I'm grateful to Sheridan for creating the fertile soil to be curious about what I didn't know about myself, leading me down a path that I otherwise would have never been exposed to.”

– Martina Greco

Greco went on to earn her master's degree in public health, then worked as an evaluation coordinator at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, where she built a community of practice for over 50 personal support workers and received an award for quality improvement of Royal's geriatric psychiatry program. She is now a program evaluation specialist at Dalhousie University's College of Pharmacy, shaping the next generation of pharmaceutical education, community service and research.

"The most satisfying part of my work is getting others to think through an evaluation lens, working as part of the Faculty of Medicine's equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee and being a valued member of the administrative team," Greco says. "I'm grateful to Sheridan for creating the fertile soil to be curious about what I didn't know about myself, leading me down a path that I otherwise would have never been exposed to."

Jessica Toth, Chiropractic

When Jessica Toth enrolled in Sheridan's Kinesiology and Health Promotion degree, she already knew she wanted to pursue a career in chiropractic care. By the time she graduated in 2015, she knew she could achieve one.

"Sheridan's degree was the perfect intersection of science, movement and community engagement, providing me with the pre-requisites I needed for chiropractic college and developing a strong foundational understanding of the human body and health," Toth says. "The true differentiator was the number of opportunities I had to gain real-world experiences through field placements and internships, which not only reinforced my knowledge but also built my confidence."

That confidence paid dividends during Toth's subsequent studies at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, where her familiarity with the concepts and coursework allowed her to focus more deeply on advancing her diagnostic and treatment skills.

"Sheridan didn't just prepare me academically, it helped me develop the skills and mindset needed to succeed in a healthcare career," says Toth, who has practised as a licensed chiropractor since 2019. "The most satisfying part of my work is knowing that I am able to directly and positively impact my community. When people feel better, move more freely and are able to return to the things they love, it has a ripple effect across their lives."

Leah Terry, Physiotherapy

The treatment Leah Terry routinely received as a high-level ballerina prompted her to pursue a career in physiotherapy once she retired from the sport. "One of the most meaningful aspects of my career has been helping dancers rehabilitate from injuries and return to the art form they love," she says. "It's full circle and deeply personal for me."

Sheridan's kinesiology and health promotion program provided a strong academic foundation for Terry to learn how to support non-dancers as well. After earning her degree in 2021, she completed her master's in physiotherapy at McMaster University, where she often leaned on the self-directed learning skills, academic writing confidence and research experience she developed in college.

“Being able to integrate both perspectives has allowed me to provide comprehensive patient-centred care,” says Terry, currently an orthopaedic physiotherapist at Burlington Sports and Spine Clinic. “I find it incredibly rewarding to provide specialized care that can significantly improve anyone’s quality of life.”

Marino Bortolussi, Strength & Conditioning

Marino Bortolussi’s passion for exercise and performance development traces back to his youth as a multi-sport athlete doing resistance training.

His educational journey was a winding one, and he was ultimately attracted to Sheridan because of its smaller classrooms, applied learning opportunities and closer connections with faculty. "Each course at Sheridan is paired with hands-on labs that reinforce learning and connect concepts,” Bortolussi says. “It helped me understand material fully, instead of just memorizing it."

Bortolussi has worked with professional athletes across numerous sports since graduating in 2022, but he says many highlights of his career have come through a variety of roles he's held at Sheridan — including the varsity program's head strength and conditioning coach, a laboratory technician and a part-time instructor.

"The most meaningful moments are when a Sheridan athlete shares their goals with me and then is able to achieve them through training," he says. "True fulfilment comes from impacting individuals at every stage of their journey, helping them grow, improve and believe in what they are capable of achieving."

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Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences — Kinesiology and Health Promotion is the only kinesiology degree in Ontario with a focus on health promotion, teaching skills to lead public health campaigns and wellness initiatives. The program also features the usage of mixed reality software to support students in challenging courses such as anatomy and physiology; more than 600 hours of field placements to hone skills in a variety of workplace settings and allied health professions; and business courses that prepare students to run their own clinics or take on leadership roles.