The Path to a Life You Love: How Purdue Global Led Me to a New Career

Kendra Newhart, a U.S. Army veteran and co-owner of a gym, found a new purpose when she used her Purdue Global degrees — a bachelor of science in nutrition and a master of science in health education — to start an unexpected career as a high school teacher.

“I love what I do, and I love my life,” Newhart says. “I feel like, ‘How is this possible? How did I come from what I’ve come through, and still able to live a great life?’”

Her online education success

Before her career as a gym owner and teacher, Newhart served for 11 years in the U.S. Army Reserve after she first joined at 18 years old.

As a young adult she felt driven to use her military benefits for higher education, but while working two civilian jobs and keeping up with her military duties, there never seemed to be enough time for classes.

“I realized balancing my jobs with rough hours and school — it did not work,” she says. “I ended up working as much as I could for the military, picking up training and picking up extra shifts.”

Then, at 20 years old, Newhart became a single mom. For the next five years she continued to try to use her benefits to go back to school. But she decided the best thing for her and her family was to take school off her plate.

“Even with my failed attempts, I kept trying,” Newhart says. “I went back two more times throughout those five years. I kept saying, ‘There’s no reason I shouldn’t make it work.’ But it was too much.”

She was deployed a few years later when she was working as a personal trainer at her own gym, Fearless Power and Strength.

Before her deployment, she had grappled with the guilt of pursuing a degree but not making it all the way through. Once she was home, she knew it was time to find a way to earn the degree she wanted so much.

“That’s when I found Purdue Global,” Newhart says.

As a certified personal trainer and gym owner, she always felt she could better help her clients on their health journey if she had a stronger background in dietetics, so she chose to earn her bachelor’s degree in nutrition.

Despite her previous attempts to earn a degree, Newhart felt in her gut that this time was different.

“It took the online experience,” she says.

As a returning adult learner and working parent, she loved how she could earn a flexible education through Purdue Global without sacrificing quality. She also found it to be a true military-friendly online college and perfect adult learning community that connected her with other people who shared a similar mindset and background.

It was the momentum she needed to finally finish what she started. She rode that wave directly into a master’s program.

“With the flexibility of Purdue Global’s online experience, I felt like the work I was doing was meaningful,” Newhart says.

She wanted to better serve her clients by improving how she presented information so they could implement what they learned and benefit their well-being. To do this, she decided on a master’s degree in health education.

It was a decision that ultimately led to an entirely new career path.
 

Career change after the military

“I knew it was an education degree, but I thought it was to teach in my gym community,” Newhart says. “I ended up graduating with my master’s degree, not knowing that I would find myself as a high school teacher.”

When a position opened at a local career academy, one of Newhart’s previous fitness instructors knew Newhart had the passion, experience and knowledge to make a difference in young people’s lives.

“She messaged me saying, ‘This is for you. You would be perfect for these kids.’ Initially, I said, ‘No, I'm not a teacher.’ And she responded, ‘It’s a whole new exercise science program, and you would be great for it,’” recounts Newhart.

So she took a chance.

Newhart is now changing the lives of young people in her community as the exercise science instructor at the Greater Lafayette Career Academy in Lafayette, Indiana. The GLCA prepares juniors and seniors for college, careers and the workforce by offering college credit and hands-on experience. Here, Newhart’s one-year program in exercise science offers students a certification and 12 college credits.

“I added opportunities in my own business, but opportunities also started to find me,” she says. “Earning a bachelor’s degree opened doors, but then continuing to get my master’s degree not only got me my job as a teacher, but I’m at the top tier. Even as a new teacher, I get to be near the top because (of my master’s degree).”

Her degrees and the career shift they led to have expanded who she is able to help — affecting the lives of her clients and hundreds of kids within her community. The degrees also helped her heal something within herself. By using her military benefits to finally complete school, she found peace and unstoppable confidence.

“I was finally able to accomplish something I failed at a few times — something big,” Newhart says.

And although becoming a teacher was unexpected for Newhart, even more surprising is the meaning the role has brought to her life.

Newhart sees her ability to use her whole life experience to help set high schoolers up for success as a full-circle moment. She says there’s nothing quite like serving as the support she needed at that age, and seeing those students start down a path toward a life they love.

“If you figure out what you’re good at and you figure out how to help people with what you’re good at, it’s a good life,” Newhart says.