Becoming Future Health Professionals: The Role of Experiential Learning on Exercise Science Students' Pre-Professional Identity.

This article examines how an undergraduate experiential learning course influenced the formation of pre-professional identity (PPI) among exercise science students preparing for careers as health professionals. Through a 12-week healthy lifestyle intervention program applying Kolb's experiential learning cycle and guided reflection, eleven students developed professional skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes that enabled them to act, think, and feel like future health professionals. Four key themes emerged: experiencing and reflecting, acting and thinking like a professional, feeling like a professional, and constructing a pre-professional identity. The study highlights the importance of intentionally integrating experiential learning opportunities in exercise science curricula to foster PPI, especially in non-CAAHEP-accredited programs, thereby better preparing students for diverse health professions.