Believe it or not, Nick Giuffre has been part of the world of Spectrum Fusion since before the program even began. He first met Dr. Heidi Ham when he was only 4 years old when he was a part of her Language Learning Group at the University of Houston. “At the time, I recommended that he add intensive occupational therapy intervention as well to address developmental dyspraxia,” Dr. Ham said. Nick participated in her Language Learning Group for two years and then they parted ways. Dr. Ham moved to London and Nick began his lifelong participation in sports. He played basketball for 10 years, took gymnastics for 9, and ran track for 4 years.
“They partially led to me wanting to become a fitness trainer,” said Nick. “I also wanted to become a personal fitness trainer because I wanted to stay involved in sports and fitness, helping people lose weight because I went through and am still going through a weight loss journey myself.” After graduating high school, Nick continued his education at Shreiner University. Initially, he had some difficulties with schedule management, the size of his workload, and separation anxiety from being away from home, but with the support of Dr. Ham and executive functioning therapists, he was able to learn strategies for organization and studying through the Spectrum Fusion Wings Program. With the help of Spectrum Fusion, Nick aced his final class and now holds an Associate’s Degree in Global Perspectives.
After earning his Associate’s, Nick volunteered to lead Spectrum Fusion’s new health initiatives called ‘Healthy Fusion’ and ‘Power Fusion’, designed to help adults on the Spectrum embrace healthy eating and living habits, and be more active. Nick jumped at the opportunity to use his fitness expertise to help others.
However, Nick was eager to expand his activities in the field of physical fitness and one day truly turn it into a career. Unsure how to go about this, he joined a personal training certification course. The course proved to be more challenging than first expected, requiring advanced knowledge of anatomy and other exercise sciences, but on October 20, 2020, Nick passed the final exam and earned his ACE Personal Training Certification. Encouraged after completing such a milestone accomplishment, Nick says earning his certificate has helped him to feel ready to accomplish a lot more.
Finding a job has been a difficult prospect during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but through Nick’s perseverance, he has already found an opportunity to put his new certification to use. In January of 2021, Nick was recommended by multiple parties to become a personal fitness trainer at LA Fitness Richmond location through Spectrum Fusion’s Reactor Room Program. One activator was Dan Vasquenza from Georgia who used to work for the Atlanta Hawks and the other was Richard Leach from Leach & Minnick law firm. The first connection didn’t go through but it was a great practice interview and the second was a winner! After shadowing under his mentor Andre for a week, Nick is now employed as a professional fitness trainer. JT is the lead trainer and he is impressed with Nick’s attention to detail and his dedication to the team.
Nick is excited to explore further opportunities in the field of physical fitness, and he is considering returning to college at some point to complete his Bachelor’s Degree. For now, Nick is proud of the accomplishments he’s made and is ready to take the fitness world by storm and soar to new heights.
