Three years ago, I almost quit school for good. I’d become disillusioned with biomechanics and academia in general. Hardly anyone in my master’s program was talking about the topics I was interested in — athletes and sports science — and it seemed like all the research dollars were going towards geriatrics and disease.
As I took some time off from school to reflect on my career trajectory, my path slowly started to take shape. I realized my true passion was bridging the gaps between training and rehabilitation as well as research and practice.
It wasn’t long after that I met my current mentors and started my PhD program in Rehabilitation Sciences — a subject area ideally suited for my aptitudes and interests.
In this program, I’m able to do the exact research that gets me excited — research on athletes, pre-participation screening, and injury risk. As clichéd as it may sound, it hardly feels like work when you’re doing what you love.
One of the coolest parts of this whole process has been taking what I’m learning in the research and sharing it with people in the field who can use it and apply it in their daily work. That’s what it’s all about.
So when Stuart Aitken, host of Lift the Bar podcast, contacted me recently to appear on the podcast and talk about this stuff, I was tickled. Moreover, I was blown away by how thoughtful his questions were. It was like he had ESP in terms of asking me about all the topics I’ve been mulling over for the last couple of years.
