Employer Testimonials

"I've been hosting students as a practicum supervisor since the program began in 2020. As a sole proprietor business owner, fitness coach, and professor, there is never a shortage of tasks. Whether it involves leading mom & baby fitness classes, creating social media content, or assisting with research tasks, my practicum students are always willing, able, and capable of accomplishing whatever comes their way. Each year, I'm continuously impressed with the students in this program and am grateful to offer an opportunity for them to grow and adapt their skills in real-world settings."

"Hosting a student through the Health Sciences practicum program has been a great experience for CRHESI. The support from Allison (Placement Coordinator) has been invaluable in facilitating the process and ensuring a smooth collaboration. In 2022, CRHESI successfully implemented the Student Collective Project, involving students from Health Sciences and Medical Sciences at Western University. Their contributions have helped advance key initiatives in health equity, research, and community engagement. This year, I am working with a Health Sciences student, on the Anti-Hate Project, which CRHESI supports in collaboration with the City of London. Through this opportunity, she is gaining hands-on experience in understanding the intersection of anti-hate and health equity, engaging with city staff, and working alongside other students. This program provides real-world learning experiences, enhances students' understanding of policy and social justice issues, and fosters meaningful contributions to community-based projects. I highly recommend this program to others and look forward to continuing our partnership in the future!"

"This is my second year hosting a student from the Clinical Kinesiology program at Western. Both years have been a positive experience. The students have been great to work with, punctual, inquisitive and were able to work independently after training was provided. They have created quality Physical Demands Analyses that are used within our Department. There was minimal paperwork and all processes from onboarding to submitting evaluations were seamless. Allison (Placement Coordinator) was quick to reply with any questions I had."

"We have had the pleasure of hosting several Kinesiology students at BGC London, and the experience has been incredibly positive. During the placement, students work as a fitness room attendant, assisting our gym members with exercises, helping them with proper form, and creating customized fitness programs based on their goals and experiences. The students have always displayed a strong understanding of fitness principles and a genuine passion for helping others improve their health. Throughout the placement, students can take on a variety of projects, from providing one-on-one assistance during workouts to developing unique sport programs with children, youth or older adults. These projects contribute greatly to our members’ experience. The customized programs are always well-received, and we appreciate the increased member engagement and motivation. As the placement supervisor, I have the opportunity to work closely with Allison, who has been an absolute pleasure to work with. She is consistently helpful, proactive, and highly organized. Allison guides you through the entire process, from proposal submission to the first day of hosting, to evaluations, ensuring everything goes smoothly. Her support is invaluable in making the placement a success. The process from submitting a proposal to the student's first day on-site was seamless. The communication and planning leading up to the placement was clear, and Allison ensured we had everything we needed to host the students successfully. Students are always well-prepared, and able to get started without any issues. Without a doubt, we would be happy to host more students in the future. The experience is incredibly rewarding. I would highly recommend this program to other employers in the health and fitness industry. Hosting a student allows you to contribute to their professional development while also benefiting from their enthusiasm and fresh perspectives. It’s a great way to support the next generation of health and wellness professionals while enhancing your own team’s skills and service offering."

"Students were involved in these types of projects: COPD video resource to support Indigenous COPD working group, Plan & organize the series 'Deep Dive into Truth & Reconciliation' Season 2 + 3. This series spotlights Indigenous women in leadership, Partnering to support registered dietitian from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Attend Truth and Reconciliation Events within London and local First Nations communities, Meet with leaders across Middlesex London, Attend team building activities. Allison (Placement Coordinator) was very responsive, so helpful! Whenever I had an issue, she was sure to follow through until resolved! Very patient with me as I need many reminders for some tasks! The overall process was easy! I like being able to interview students beforehand, once we have inplace it is very easy. I recommend the program to friends or colleagues and can’t wait for more students in the fall, I will be very sad when my current group leaves in April!!! They are absolutely fantastic! I am so happy that they are a part of my team!"

"We had the pleasure of partnering with Western University’s Kinesiology Program for our Afterschool Program, and the experience exceeded our expectations. The students took on projects emphasizing physical activity, movement education, and promoting healthy lifestyles among our participants. Their initiatives were thoughtfully designed to foster physical literacy and teamwork, greatly enriching the experiences of our program's children and youth. We were thoroughly impressed with the outcomes and the positive impact on our community. Working with Allison (Placement Coordinator) throughout this partnership was a wonderful experience. She was consistently helpful, approachable, and efficient in coordinating the placements. Her guidance ensured the students were well-prepared and aligned with our program’s goals. Allison’s support made the entire collaboration seamless and effective. The overall process—from submitting our initial proposal to welcoming the students on their first day—was straightforward and well-organized. Communication was clear at every stage, and the expectations for both parties were well-defined, allowing the students to integrate smoothly into our programming. Without hesitation, we would welcome the opportunity to host students from the Kinesiology Program again in the future. The professionalism, enthusiasm, and commitment demonstrated by the students brought tremendous value to our program. We highly recommend this partnership to other organizations seeking to enhance their services through collaboration with Western University’s Kinesiology Program."

"It was a pleasure to host a kinesiology student (Sept-Dec 2024) and a health sciences student (Sept-Dec 2023) from Western University for their placements with the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force (CMTF). CMTF is flagship initiative of the Canadian Nutrition Society. The students were assigned tasks that aligned with CMTF’s strategic aims of developing resources & tools and disseminating evidence based knowledge around malnutrition. These tasks included conducting a literature search on a specific topic related to malnutrition; summarizing the evidence; reviewing presentations from expert speakers; creating summaries of key messages; developing tools for clinicians and presenting their accomplishments to CMTF’s multidisciplinary advisory group. Since the placements were offered remotely, the students and I met at regularly scheduled video conferencing meetings to review task details, address questions, provide support, review timelines and assess progress. The students indicated that the placement led to their novel understanding of issues related to malnutrition & nutrition care in real life healthcare settings. Over the 12 week placement, they learned how knowledge is translated from research to practice and were able to interact with a variety of healthcare professionals. Both students displayed great initiative, took on the assigned tasks with great enthusiasm, displayed a genuine eagerness to learn, sought feedback and applied it effectively. With the assistance of the Experiential Learning Coordinator, Allison (Placement Coordinator), who provided guidance on how to complete the application, execute the affiliation agreement, complete the online timesheet confirmations & evaluations, the process was quite manageable. The ongoing reminders of timelines were appreciated. It was a pleasure to host these students, and I would highly recommend this program to other colleagues who are interested in contributing to the personal and academic growth of students in healthcare."

"I had the privilege of hosting a placement opportunity where the student collaborated with a provincial coalition. Their responsibilities included attending meetings, supporting branding revisions, engaging in networking tasks, and contributing to report writing. Supervising this placement student was an exceptional experience. They brought fresh perspectives to the group and significantly accelerated the progress of our work. I look forward to supervising future placement students and would recommend the program for organizations seeking overall program project planning and support."

"We really enjoyed hosting a Western student at our studio. The process of submitting a proposal to host a student was quick and easy and Allison (Placement Coordinator) was always available and easy to get in touch with when needed. It was very rewarding working with Olivia to help teach her about our business and how to be become a coach. We have seen her grow throughout her time with us and it has been great to see her progress! We had a great experience with this program and will definitely be hosting another student in the future!"

"For the 2024/2025 school year, we had the same Health Sciences student for both terms. This gave us consistency in our projects and we feel our student really felt like she had a place on our team long-term. This allowed her to build relationships and work with more than one staff. Our student co-created a grief program that we are facilitating in 2025. This program focuses on how grief affects your body, your mind and your soul. This is a five week, small group program that helps participants understand where they feel the pain they are experiencing, why they feel and how to work through it with spiritual care, community resources, self-awareness and practical supports. At the end of the program, participants will have a 'tool kit' of coping techniques and strategies and connections to community resources. Our student will assist in facilitation of this program. In addition to this program, our student has created a focus group for people in our program with lived experience. She created the applications, the questions for the focus group and we plan on having her facilitate the focus group with staff assistance. Once the focus groups are completed, she will compile the data for our team and we will create programming around the feedback from our clients. As a side project, our student also helped us set up an emergency warming centre during a cold weather alert in London, preparing food and supplies for anyone who came to us looking for shelter. Both of these projects are very important to our community and how we deliver practical programming that people need or want to participate in. We are extremely pleased of the work our student has accomplished so far. Her positivity, ability to rely on the practical components of her education and her willingness to reach out to people has been exceptionally helpful. Her professionalism is admirable. Allison (Placement Coordinator) has been nothing but helpful and professional in all aspects of this program. With so many organizations and businesses to manage with student placements, she has an ability to make you feel like you’re the only one and you have all of her attention. Our experience for both years that we have participated (2023 + 2024) have been exceptional. We have had engaged students who are organized, capable and productive. It’s been a very positive experience. We wouldn’t hesitate recommending this program to any organization that could benefit from having a student looking to grow their knowledge and experience and to be a part of something important."

"The Hutton House fitness program has been hosting UWO Students for many years. The students who participate are responsible for teaching online and in person fitness classes. Our classes are offered to a variety of individuals that require additional modifications /programming that are not offered through traditional gyms. Individuals that have participated have been diagnosed with an acute or chronic medical condition. This may include Arthritis, MS, Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy etc. As well, students will assist in our cooking classes and are always encouraged to produce ideas and facilitate classes. Allison (Placement Coordinator) has always been quick to respond to questions or concerns and we have developed a positive working relationship with her."

"Our student came to our organization as a humble and intelligent student. She helped design, implement, and lead biweekly programming for the Senior Coffee Chat group, an engaging and dynamic program tailored towards older adults. The program aims to promote members’ social, physical, and mental wellbeing through various activities such as crafts and exercise. I was happy with the outcome, as she met the goal of creating a supportive and inclusive environment where all feel welcomed and valued. It was a pleasure working with Allison. She was helpful in all possible ways. She helped me navigate the InPlace website. It was challenging at first, as I was having difficulty navigating the site, but with her help I was able to work it out. I find the online process much easier than the previous years where you will have to submit a paper work. NWLRC would definitely host and recommend the program to other organizations."

"My student was very keen to learn about the Amputee Program and took the initiative to complete an upper extremity amputation summary handout, which was helpful. The overall process of taking a student was smooth; the team has great communication. The only difficulties initially seemed to be working out the kinks with InPlace as this was new to me this year, but that did not take long to sort out. I would definitely recommend the program to students!

"Hosting Western University practicum students at Combine Fitness has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with bright, enthusiastic, and motivated students eager to immerse themselves in the fields of fitness, sports performance, and business operations. They come prepared to learn and apply their knowledge while gaining real life work experience along the way. During their placement, students gain hands-on experience in a variety of areas critical to the fitness industry. They learn the intricacies of business operations, from understanding scheduling and logistics to client relationship management. They also dive into the practical side of sports performance training and personal training, where they assist with client assessments, create/execute tailored programming, and shadow trainers in one-on-one and group settings. Our students have been integral in leading group training classes, working with sports teams, and contributing to the overall client experience. They develop essential skills in communication, ethics, and professionalism, which not only benefit their career growth but also enhance our facility’s environment. The energy and fresh perspective they bring to Combine are invaluable, and we are consistently impressed by their growth and contributions throughout the term. The process of working with Western has been seamless. Allison (Placement Coordinator) has been fantastic—always helpful, communicative, and proactive in ensuring the placement is a success for both the student and our facility. From submitting the proposal to welcoming the student on their first day, the entire process is well-structured and stress-free. Allison always provides us with support and let’s us know we can connect with her at anytime, for anything! We have been thrilled with the outcomes of the projects our students have worked on, whether it’s refining our group training programs, assisting in sports team collaborations, working with youth athletes, or developing marketing initiatives. The students consistently exceed our expectations, and their time at Combine equips them with skills they can carry forward into their professional careers. We absolutely recommend this program to other businesses in the industry. Hosting a student is not only a great way to support the next generation of health and fitness professionals but also an opportunity to bring fresh ideas and energy into your organization. Without hesitation, we would host a students again and again in the future. Western’s practicum program has been a game-changer for us at Combine, and we’re grateful for the partnership!"

"The students worked on a variety of impactful projects, including social media campaigns, league sponsorship acquisition, and tournament acquisition for FireRock Golf Club. We were very happy with the outcomes. Their creativity and efforts in the social media campaigns helped enhance our online presence, while their work on sponsorship and tournament acquisition contributed to building valuable partnerships and increasing engagement. Their contributions were highly appreciated and aligned with our organizational goals. My experience in dealing with Allison (Placement Coordinator) was exceptional. She is incredibly organized, attentive, and always goes above and beyond to ensure everything runs smoothly. Her professionalism and lovely demeanor make working with her an absolute pleasure. She was extremely helpful and provided clear, timely communication, making the process seamless and efficient. The overall process of hosting Western University interns was smooth and well-structured. From submitting a proposal to the interns’ first day, the communication was clear and timely. The guidelines and expectations were laid out effectively, and there was ample support throughout the process. Any questions or concerns were promptly addressed, which made the experience seamless and efficient. It was a positive experience, and we appreciated the professionalism and organization provided by the university team. Absolutely, we would host a student again in the future and highly recommend the program to friends and colleagues. The experience was both rewarding for our team and mutually beneficial, as the students brought fresh perspectives and enthusiasm to our organization. The support and organization provided by Western University throughout the process made it seamless and enjoyable. It’s an excellent opportunity to contribute to student growth while enhancing our operations."

"At Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, we have appreciated the tremendous support that the Western students have been able to provide our agency. As a neighbourhood-based resource centre we directly work with the community to provide supports and services that they need. The placement students have been able to utilize their education in Health Studies to design programs and resources that cater to the gaps in health and wellness in the community. For example, students in the past have assisted in providing nutritional information in our Centre Market emergency food cupboard, translation services, and tutoring in our Study Buddies program. Every student has been devoted to the program goals and the overall Centre’s mission. Allison (Placement Coordinator) has been a consistent support in the entire process from submitting the request for students to their final evaluations. She has always been quick with her communication and does an excellent job at supporting the agency and the students. As GCCRC continues to grow and evolve, we have appreciated the unique perspective that these students have been able to provide. I will continue to support these students, and we will always appreciate their participation in a placement at GCCRC."

"Our organization had a highly successful experience with our placement student, who quickly became an integral member of our team during her time with us. Throughout her placement, she contributed to a variety of projects, including: Newsletter development, Refining infographics and other health promotion materials, Event support (both leading up to and on the day of events), Writing podcast show notes. The process of submitting a proposal to host a student went smoothly overall. However, it's important to highlight that there are certain commitments the host organization must fulfill to ensure a successful placement term. These include maintaining regular communication with Western, staying on top of timesheet sign-offs and evaluations, and other related responsibilities. Our organization found that having a clear plan in place—such as a scheduled outline of activities and projects—greatly facilitated effective communication between the student and the organization. In order to host a placement student again, we would want to ensure that there are enough meaningful tasks and opportunities to provide a valuable experience for the student. Based on our positive experience, we would definitely recommend the program to others on campus and within the community."

"Thank you for the opportunity to host students as part of this program! In the past few years we have hosted 3 separate students, and have had positive experiences each time. Students have been inquisitive, enthusiastic and helpful. They have been able to support the work of the team, adapt to changing circumstances and build their own coaching and research skills. Students in our team usually spend most of their time working one-on-one with program participants, but also assist in training new coaches and supporting other research activities. There can sometimes be a learning curve when working with InPlace for the very first time, but once you become comfortable with it, it makes the process of reviewing student hours far more seamless."