My Life After CSUMB: Kinesiology grad owns a growing local gym

Valerie Valdez arrived at Cal State Monterey Bay undecided about her major, but things didn’t stay that way for long.

While initially intrigued by CSUMB’s marine science program, Valdez continued researching various concentrations on the school’s website and seeking opinions from her classmates. It didn’t take long for kinesiology to stand out.

“Chemistry is chemistry. Calculus is calculus. But kinesiology was this broad spectrum of all these different concentrations you could have,” Valdez said.

Valdez decided on her major within three months: kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science. It was the perfect choice.

In June 2020, Valdez opened Strength, a boutique fitness studio, in Monterey. Her business, which currently focuses on classes and private training, is already expanding. Valdez and her staff are renovating the building next door to serve as a conventional gym space.

“A lot of these corporate gyms, they don’t offer that community feel, so this layer is going to add that in for our Monterey local community,” Valdez said.

The Class of 2016 alumna has been part of that community ever since coming to CSUMB from Rosamond, in the desert northeast of Los Angeles.

“I liked that it was only about 4 1/2 hours from my hometown,” Valdez said. “What I also loved was that the professors lived near campus so they were really accessible all the time.”

Long after Valdez completed her studies at CSUMB, that’s still the case. She can still reach out to Professor Ryan Luke for questions about managing Strength. Professor Lisa Leininger routinely invites Valdez back to campus to speak to prospective kinesiology students.

In that way, Valdez is able to share her own experiences at CSUMB, which included one internship with a local physical therapist and another at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

She learned plenty from her classes, too, including a weightlifting course — Kinesiology 305 — in which groups of students created workouts for their classmates and received real-time feedback from instructors.

“We got super hands-on training for becoming a trainer, which I think is extremely unique, at CSUMB,” Valdez said. “There weren’t any classes like that, that I know of, from other colleges, and this one was so specific and so hands-on that it really helped shape my training now.”

A CSUMB kinesiology class focused on training special populations (including children, pregnant women and those with various medical needs) has served Valdez well. At Strength, she works with patients who have multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, as well as those rehabbing from hip or knee replacements.

Seeing her clients make strides to improve their emotional and physical health can be quite rewarding.

“One of the greatest satisfactions I get from owning Strength is watching clients grow stronger not just physically, but in their confidence and overall well-being,” Valdez said. “I love seeing the long-term progress in people’s lives and knowing our work plays a role in their health and longevity.”

Valdez isn’t doing it all alone. She has some help from the next generation of CSUMB graduates. Her training staff at Strength includes three Otters who went through the kinesiology program: Diego Sevillano, Ariel Johnson and Casey Gahan.

“They all did the same curriculum, and it just feels really good to have some of my other alumni here working with me,” Valdez said.

After all, as Valdez has learned, her ties to CSUMB remain strong years after she left campus.

“It doesn’t just end when you graduate,” she said. “As an alumni student, [the university] is still very willing to support you in your endeavors.”