Introducing Dr. Kevin Zwetsloot, the Honors College Academic Mentor for Health Sciences Majors
By Melanie Kershaw and Dr. Vicky Klima
Dr. Kevin Zwetsloot, an exercise physiologist and professor in the Department of Kinesiology, has joined the Honors College as an academic mentor for students in the Beaver College of Health Sciences.
Honors College Associate Vice Provost Dr. Vicky Klima highlighted his appointment, noting,
Kevin Zwetsloot brings extensive experience guiding students through research and helping them pursue challenging academic opportunities, but what I appreciate most is his commitment to students as individuals.
Dr. Zwetsloot has a long history of working with Honors students, including Honors contract courses and mentoring 12 undergraduate Honors theses.
Dr. Klima added, “He embraces mentorship as relationship-building by helping students discover what excites them intellectually and connecting them with opportunities that help them grow.”
Striving to extend his mentorship to more students, Dr. Zwetsloot noted,
Taking on this role as the Honors mentor for the Beaver College of Health Sciences students helps me connect with more students than just in my department.
Honors College academic mentors play a crucial role in fulfilling our Honors College mission to support students’ individual holistic development and engagement beyond themselves, across disciplinary boundaries, and in collaboration with others. Honors College mentors empower and engage students by collaborating with them to:
- Strategically navigate the Honors curriculum, major decisions, and general education choices to explore and define personal and professional long-term goals, including plans for post-graduate education or employment.
- Identify and pursue co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to further refine and achieve their goals.
- Become leaders, healthy, well-balanced community members, and engaged local-global citizens.
Honors College mentors begin working with students before they arrive on campus, partnering with them at their Honors Orientation to develop plans for completing their undergraduate requirements, including majors, minors, and general education. Honors College advising is unique in that advisors support their students for the entire duration of their time at Appalachian. Even after they declare their majors, mentors continue to guide students through University Honors requirements such as interdisciplinary coursework, international education, and the completion of their Honors thesis.
For Dr. Zwetsloot, the transition to this role was inspired by the mentors who guided his own career. He explained,
I’ve been very fortunate throughout my academic career, both in my training phase and as a faculty member, that I myself have had some really good mentors. I just want to pay it forward.
Many Honors College mentors are also faculty members in their advising area, teaching one course fewer than they would otherwise and reassigning that time to Honors College mentoring. As established professionals with terminal degrees, Honors College mentors are well-connected in their fields and best-positioned to understand available opportunities. Their professional expertise and experiences, combined with the personal relationships they develop with students, allow them to connect each student with international programs, internships, research experiences, and leadership opportunities that specifically support that student’s success.
In the Department of Kinesiology, Dr. Zwetsloot serves as the director of the Biochemistry Laboratory. Now midway through his career at App State, his teaching experience includes instruction in Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology and Exercise Physiology, lecture and lab courses.
Dr. Zwetsloot’s own research serves as a model for interdisciplinary collaboration. He is currently investigating how gut health can be improved through exercise, a field he notes was virtually unknown a decade ago. This research has flourished into a three-year collaboration with biology faculty, merging his expertise in exercise physiology with their understanding of microbiology.
“It’s been a fun experience diving into a new area for me,” he said. “To actually be challenged and think of new questions is fun.”
He remains deeply committed to involving students in this process. “More than just the topic or the question that we’re asking for research, I like to get students involved and get them passionate, and instill in them that drive of really being curious about something." Speaking on his personal benefits from working with undergraduates, he shared,
As faculty members, it’s easy to get stuck in the rut of always doing the same thing, but learning new things and bringing in students with fresh ideas and fresh eyes is always a good mix to bring into your lab.
Dr. Kevin Zwetsloot is a dedicated addition to the Honors College mentorship team. Students are encouraged to reach out to him to discuss their academic goals or his ongoing research into exercise and the gut microbiome.