This story was originally published in The Tower – Volume 1, 2026.
Meghan Johnson, MS (’25) earned the internship opportunity of a lifetime: supporting health and fitness operations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Last November and December, she worked within a campus-wide wellness system focused on human performance for the engineers, contractors and employees behind space launches.
“Being able to use what I learned through Logan University’s Master of Science in Sports Science & Rehabilitation (MSSSR) program and apply it in an environment like the KSC Fitness Center was an amazing experience,” Meghan said.
She learned under the KSC Fitness Center’s wellness program coordinator and supervisor, assisting with blood pressure screenings, fitness orientations, cardiorespiratory and strength assessments, and group exercise programming.
Performing safety and clinical screenings were central to her role, as participants are required to meet health benchmarks or receive medical clearance before exercising. The internship closely mirrored the MSSSR program’s emphasis on applied exercise science and care for special populations.
“The experience was intensive and hands-on,” Meghan said. “I taught group exercise classes, led fitness assessments and worked one-on-one with participants new to structured exercise. A lot of people would come into the fitness center and say, ‘I don’t even know where to start.’ That’s where I could take what I learned at Logan—assessing baselines, prescribing safe exercise and meeting people where they are.”
Completing an internship supervised by a certified exercise physiologist is a key component of the MSSSR program.
“I located who would later be my site supervisor through the American College of Sports Medicine directory and reached out via a blind email,” Meghan said. “As luck would have it, they got back to me, and I knew it was a special opportunity I had to take.”
The placement also allowed Meghan to apply classroom concepts in unexpected ways. While touring NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, home to the Artemis II spacecraft, she found herself discussing the physiological effects of microgravity with engineers.
“We learned about microgravity in the MSSSR program and how it affects the body,” Meghan said. “Being able to connect that science to real missions in real conversations was incredibly rewarding.”
More than a decade in the health and fitness industry led Meghan to Logan. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and built a career focused on cardiac wellness, chronic disease management and pre- and postrehabilitation populations, often working within hospital-based fitness centers.
“I wanted more than personal training,” Meghan said. “I wanted the medical and scientific foundation to better serve people with complex health needs.”
That motivation inspired her to enroll in Logan’s MSSSR program, which was an ideal fit for her professional goals and the populations she serves. Now a proud Logan alumna, Meghan is applying her training in a new role as recreation and leisure services manager at a Florida resort community where she oversees wellness programming for older adults.
“It’s about helping people stay functional, active and engaged,” Meghan said. “Logan helped me connect science to real people, and that’s something I’ll carry forward in every role.”