There are over 100 student organizations at Tarleton State University. Tarleton is constantly evolving, and the students on campus are always looking to get involved in the organizations available.
One of the newest founded organizations is the Kinesiology Journal Club (KJC). If you are interested in the human body system, how it functions with elements around us and if you enjoy research based writing, then the KJC would be a good fit for you.
Kinesiology is the scientific study of movement. This can be human, or nonhuman movement. The study of kinesiology focuses on the physiological, biomechanical and psychological principles of the body’s movement. Although, this is not all that is studied through this organization.
The Tarleton KJC is a student led research organization that is open to students of any major, long as they are enrolled at Tarleton. In order to become an official member, you must attend five meetings within a semester, and be in good standing with the organization.
There are many people involved in the KJC. Currently, Natalie Walker is the President of the club, and she encourages students to be active in their research.
The students in the KJC work side by side with Tarleton faculty in the Kinesiology, Physiology and Engineering departments. Working closely with this staff allows the club to uncover research from the vast realm of sciences through discussion and expertise of the professors involved.
“There are also many professors involved in the club, such as Dr. [Michael] Luera of the Kinesiology department, who also serves as the advisor, Dr. [Neil] Petroff from the Engineering department and Dr. [Amber] Bozer from the Psychology department. All of these wonderful professors have utilized their knowledge and skill set to add to the KJC and all of the students are learning about research in a wide array of topics,” Walker said.
The KJC has great success ahead of it.
“I am currently serving as the President of our student-led KJC and I am very excited about the addition of our organization to the Tarleton RSOs. I hope that this organization can enlighten students about the availability of research and inquiry in their field of interest. I would love to conduct research with students from several departments working together to dig deeper into questions we have.” Walker said. “[Currently, the KJC] is not conducting any research in itself,“ Walker said.

“However, the Human Performance Lab (HPL) which puts on the KJC, hosts and conducts research which members of the KJC are welcome to observe and volunteer if they’d like. [We] might [do] survey studies along with other research as the organization grows,” Walker said.
As time progresses, it is guaranteed that the KJC will continue to grow.
“Within the Kinesiology department at Tarleton, the interest and demand for research are growing daily. With the addition of Dr. Leura as a staff member, his expertise and additions of research as an option in the classroom the KJC will inevitably grow,” Walker said.
“Secondly, with an increase in research being conducted in the department students are becoming more involved and can earn professional development (PD) points through our organization,” Walker said.
Each Kinesiology student must earn 15 PD points in total to graduate.
The KJC has a wide variety of goals for this semester as well as upcoming semesters.
“[Some of these goals are to] encourage the review of current and past kinesiology research, and engage Tarleton students in understanding the purpose of research in their careers,” Walker said.
There are many other goals that the KJC has in their reach.
“[Some others include increasing] research done by both graduate and undergraduate students, [as well as acquiring] new modalities and skill sets in the laboratory and classroom setting which can be applied to research,” Walker said.
“Currently, awards and competitions are not something that the KJC has participated in due to the newness of our organization. However, as far as advancements we implement and teach students different technologies and skills as they are discussed in papers we review. Being able to learn these skills in a hands-on environment with GAs and professors present is an advantage KJC members are privy to,” Walker said.
The KJC is on the rise here at Tarleton, if you are interested feel free to attend a meeting. Meetings are held in the Kinesiology building every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about this club, or if you have any questions, you can contact Natalie Walker.