Lara Carlson leads students on educational journey to Scotland
Lara Carlson, DPE., CSCS, FACSM, associate professor in the Westbrook College of Health Professions and the Center of Excellence in the Neurosciences recently returned from a trip to Scotland with 51Æ·²èPreceptor Christopher Toth, DPM, and a group of eleven students. During the May 2015 trip they studied a combination of physiological and environmental stresses and a period of rich history over the country’s rugged coastline and challenging highlands.
During the spring semester, students Amy Belanger '16, Applied Exercise Science (AES); Kristina Carlson ’16, Medical Biology; Alyssa Cormack ’16, Biology, Alexandra Derosia '16, AES; Nicole Dubois '15, AES; Finn Ducker ’16, AES; Michelle Pellegrino ’16, AES; Kaylee Pobocik ’16, Athletic Training (AT); Kaitlyn Savard ’16, AES; Korey Sawdey ’15, AT; and Elizabeth Thompson ’16, AES, were enrolled in an environmental physiology course developed and taught by Carlson. The course focuses on various forms of environmental stress: heat, cold, hyperbaric, hypobaric, microgravity, and G-forces, on the human body.
"I think this was a whole new learning experience in itself," said Kaylee Pobocik ’16. "Not only did we learn about Scotland’s history and environment, we physically experienced it. When roaming through the castles, I remembered learning about the nutrients available to the people living is those time periods. It gave perspective to what their bodies had to endure."
As part of the course, students studied Scotland’s history with a special focus on the late 13th and 14th Centuries during the Scottish Wars of Independence, the revolts and Sir William Wallace, and the 1328 Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton recognizing the independence of Scotland and Robert the Bruce as King. From there, the course turned its attention to the physiology and performance of the Scottish Army by examining the medieval Scottish diet and physical activity of the poorly armored spearman and bowman as they marched through the challenging highlands.
Highlights of the trip included traveling through the Highlands passing through the Grampian and Monadhliath Mountains and a view of Britain’s highest mountain Ben Nevis. The group traveled to the breathtaking Isle of Skye, passing Eilean Donan Castle, a stop at the Trotternish Ridge with its spectacular cliffs and rock formations, and the dramatic sea-cliffs of Neist Point. The trip also included exploring the cities of Stirling, Fort William, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. For Carlson, this was a visit to her old-stomping grounds. A former hammer thrower and highland games competitor, Carlson would spend consecutive months of August training in Scotland with her U.S. coach Bill Sutherland, native Scotsman and master of the sport, Stewart Togher, and two-time Scottish Olympian Chris Black.