PCS doesn’t have physical education (PE), which means some of it’s students aren’t receiving any physical activity. Kiersten Olshan wants to change that. Kiersten is a very experienced personal trainer. Her first job in the business was when she was 14, and currently, she’s the PE teacher at UCSC. However, she’s mostly only taught adults and she recently became inspired to start working with kids. Driven by her vast background in personal training, Kiersten started the Healthy Steps Program to interact with the PCS community. Students can go to the gym with her 3 times a week to do all forms of training, from karate to yoga to pilates. The purpose of this program is really for the students to find a love in exercise and make their own pursuit of health self-driven. Also, the program is there to help students be able to balance their athletics and their academics. PCS is a stressful school with a large workload, and Kiersten wants to give the students a way to relieve their stress and stay healthy at the same time.

While Kiersten was specifically interested in PCS for it’s lack of physical education and it’s high levels of work, she does have plans of eventually expanding her program to other schools in the county, and in the end, the entire country. She says that she really wants to help students find fun and love in exercise so that they grow up continuing to be active. Working with adults all her life has caused her to realise that not many grew up liking physical activity, so they still don’t as adults, and she really wants to work to change that perspective. Specific plans for expansion include Santa Cruz High School, Mission Middle School, and Kirby Preparatory School. PCS is very lucky to be the first school to receive Kiersten’s love for training others and her joy in helping people find their self through exercise.