CrossFit’s Culture of Excellence
If you want to find the best doctor in your community, you don’t always start with Google—you head to your local CrossFit affiliate. The same goes if you’re searching for a plumber, an accountant, or a teacher. Walk into a class and you’ll find people who show up consistently, who demand the best from themselves, and who carry that same standard into their professional lives.
Those who have been part of this community know the saying well: “CrossFit is for anyone, but not for everyone.” There’s truth in it. The methodology pushes us to our edges, and in doing so, it attracts a certain kind of person. Affiliates become magnets for individuals who thrive on hard work, who take pride in grinding through challenge, and who bring that grit into every other corner of life. You don’t remain part of this community unless you’re tough. That toughness is what bonds us—and it’s why CrossFit isn’t just about health. It’s about creating a culture of resilience.
Why Penn State?
Now, for the first time, that culture is being formally extended into higher education. The CrossFit Medical Society is piloting a first-of-its-kind mentorship program, led in partnership with Penn State University. This program connects undergraduate and graduate students with the CrossFit ethos—and with the people who live it every day.
Alongside the Penn State CrossFit Club, the CrossFit Medical Society’s interest group is building a unique space on Penn State’s campus where students can train, learn, and grow as leaders. These students are already committed to showing up for the hardest part of their day. Now, we want to help them carry that discipline, resilience, and community into their careers, families, and futures.
Why Mentorship?
Even the strongest among us benefit from guidance. College students are eager to step into their futures, but they need mentors to help them make the most of their potential. And who better to provide that than the CrossFit community itself?
Our affiliates are filled with doctors, entrepreneurs, tradespeople, scientists, podcasters, and parents—all united by a foundation built under the barbell. These students don’t just need role models; they need CrossFit role models—people who understand the culture and can help them translate it into every corner of their lives.
Your Opportunity
This is more than mentorship. It’s about ensuring the values of CrossFit get carried forward into every profession and every space. Whether a student takes CrossFit methodology into a clinic, a lab, a boardroom, or a 9-to-5 job, they will be stronger for it—and so will the culture they help shape.
If you’re ready to support our college CrossFitters—to guide them, challenge them, and pass on what this community has given you—follow the link below to take a short survey. You’ll have the opportunity to be matched with a student mentee for one year, and together, you’ll continue the tradition of building not just stronger athletes, but stronger leaders for the future.
Click here to take the Mentor Interest Survey to match with a mentee.
Mentors will receive guidance materials to support them throughout the program.
