As a health and exercise sciences professor, Paul Arciero has the research data to back up his fitness and nutrition tips. He describes himself as "an optimal-health and physical-performance research scientist—that's my daily motivation." And now he's working on a new app called Genio-Fit to guide users in a customized "set it and forget it" wellness routine.

Arciero's research has probed the physiology behind carbohydrates vs proteins, exercise intensity vs duration, and much more. In his "This is Skidmore" podcast, he notes that Americans are overwhelmed by information overload and fads in both exercise and eating. He argues that overall wellness encompasses muscle strength, joint mobility, metabolic and nutritional health, and cardiovascular fitness, not to mention mind-body balance, all of which can be achieved in a wide variety of ways.

To promote realistic and effective strategies for wellness, he's developing Genio-Fit, which will take each user's food and activity preferences, limitations, and goals and then apply algorithms to suggest the best choices for that person.

For Juan De Jesus '09, Skidmore paved the way out of his South Bronx neighborhood, but he chose to go back and give back, as a teacher at his old school.

After spending his early years in his Dominican grandfather's rice fields and not in school, De Jesus entered sixth grade in New York City without proper preparation or English skills. Of course he did poorly and lost interest. But when a counselor from CollegeBound Initiative began mentoring him, his life turned around. His love of chess inspired him to study so he could qualify for the school chess team. When he graduated he swore to himself that he'd leave the Bronx and never return.

De Jesus enrolled at Skidmore through its highly acclaimed Higher Education Opportunity Program, and at Commencement 2009 he was so grateful for the mentors and professors who'd helped him that he thought, "I can't live with myself if I don't go back and do the same for others." He earned a master's in education, and today he's a special-education teacher at his old South Bronx high school. And he was named a Robin Hood Foundation 2016 hero [video here].