Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have worked at Georgia Tech now for almost sixteen years and I do communications for the Campus Services department. I live about 50 miles from here so I have a long commute, but I come in early in the mornings so that I can go ahead and do my exercise and avoid traffic. I get up at 3:50 am, I am usually on the expressway by 4:30 am, and I get to the CRC at about 5:20 am. Some friends and I come in and we sit, but it is funny because I did not know any of these people until I started exercising here. That is one of the things I like about the CRC and one of the reasons that I come is because I feel like I am a part of a group and I didn’t know any of these people before. I know that I have heard other people say that they do exercise because they do it with their friends and they are more likely to do it with them. But I met these people here, and we come in and we wait a few minutes until the building opens, I call us the 5:30 am club, then we go about our way; somebody goes and swims, other people do the weights, and every other day I do the treadmill or some kind of aerobic exercise then I do the weights every other day.

How long have you been a member of the CRC?

I have been a member for five and a half years. I have a payroll deduction membership, so it was easy for me to check back. I thought I had been coming for many more years, but it has been five and a half years. But I do remember thinking when I finally started, as I was saying I used to come here for meetings once a week and I’d think ‘why I am not coming here?’ Then once I started somebody asked me ‘what do you think?’ and I said ‘I wish I started years ago!’ In order to exercise you just need to start doing it. There is such great equipment that we have here and you can do almost anything you want.

Where are we most likely to find you in the CRC? What is your favorite part of the CRC?

Which dimension of wellness do you feel most connected to while engaging with the CRC (professional, spiritual, social, physical, or emotional)?

I thought about that and I think there are probably three: social, mental, and physical. But the social thing, I like feeling like I am a part of a group even though again I did not know any of these people and I do not exercise with them. If we get here early we sit and talk a few minutes and then everybody goes their different ways. I love coming especially when there are students (there are always students there) and they are all so physically apt with muscles and I like thinking I’m a part of that, whether I look like them or not. I feel like I am a part of that, so I love that social aspect.

Then two, the physical. Somebody said ‘well you could exercise at home’ and I could, but I wouldn’t. Coming here is a routine, I exercise, I get ready, and I’m off to work. All that stuff everyone says that you’ll feel better when you exercise, I do! Some days if I skip it and go on to work and don’t exercise I don’t feel as good.

Then lastly the emotional part of it, people tell you that too if you exercise you are more in tune or more relaxed, that’s all true too! Because you are concentrating on the exercises that you are doing and then your mind is sort of wandering about, but you are just relaxed.

So those three aspects, to me, are the strongest; the emotional, the physical, and the social.

What is your most fun CRC story?

I probably have a couple. One is there was a graduate student one day and he said ‘Melissa, are you still doing the same routine that you were doing?’ and I said ‘Yes!’ He said ‘If I know what your routine is, then you have probably been doing it for too long!’ But I thought that was kind of funny.

Then another one, was a time when I was sitting out with the folks waiting out here for the building to open and one of the gentlemen told me that his favorite part of the exercise was sitting down waiting to go in and I told him that my favorite part was actually leaving.

What else should we know that we have not asked you yet?

The main part is that I wish I would have started sooner. You can’t go back, but you can go forward. If I can encourage anybody to make the CRC part of their daily routine, I would. I would just say again I just decided one day that I was going to do it and I did! For an employee especially, it is very easy to do because you just do the payroll deduction membership and then you just come and you are able to whenever you want. The only thing I regret is not starting my membership sooner. At one point I got a personal trainer and they helped me start my routine and I just love it!