The Rocky Mountain Center of Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH) is proud to announce that Uchenna Ogbonnaya has been named a recipient of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation's Minority Scholarship for 2022. Uchenna was selected by the NSCA Foundation Scholarship Committee after a thorough evaluation process of all applicants. This $2,000 scholarship is designed to encourage minorities to enter the field of strength and conditioning.
Uchenna is a PhD student and research assistant at the University of Utah, where he is studying occupational and environmental health with an emphasis in occupational injury prevention through RMCOEH. Uchenna earned his undergraduate degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead, double majoring in physics and exercise science and a master’s degree in exercise science at Adams State University. His research focuses on the mental and physical occupational hazards of first responders using a mixed-method design. This project is a mix of occupational research and injury prevention focused on a first responder population, stretching, and challenging the current research trajectory
This topic is important to understand the relationship between physical health, mental health, and performance in all occupational populations. This research combines the worlds of performance and occupational injury prevention research and expands the conventional thinking of these areas. Upon graduation, Uchenna aims to start a career in sports science, which overlaps with occupational injury prevention, where he can use evidence-based practices and data to understand injury trends in athletics and maximize the performance of athletes.
"Congratulations to Uchenna for this well-deserved honor," said Dr. Don Melrose, NSCA Foundation Board President. "He is an outstanding student with an extremely bright future. We are proud to support Uchenna in his studies to be a future leader of the strength and conditioning industry.”
“The scholarship applicant pool was strong this year, making the process very competitive. Uchenna should be very proud of this accomplishment. I look forward to seeing him grow within the profession,” said Carissa Gump, NSCA Foundation Executive Director.
Media Note: To schedule an interview with the scholarship winner, contact
About the National Strength & Conditioning Association Foundation
The NSCA Foundation was founded in 2007 with the aim of supporting the advancement of strength and conditioning practical applications. The foundation is a non-profit organization committed to providing funding to NSCA members taking part in educational and research endeavors.
Since its establishment, the NSCA Foundation has awarded 120 grants and 440 scholarships, totaling over $2 million to outstanding individuals within the strength and conditioning community. It is one of the few foundations that fund work at the Master’s level and across all levels up to senior investigators, as well as one of the few sources that funds work in the strength and conditioning fields. A major goal of the foundation is to continue to maximize assets in order to increase grants and scholarships for NSCA members.
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