My favorite athletic accomplishment came recently this past fall.  I had joined the rugby team here at Union, and I was able to step up and be a core contributor to the team after playing for a year at Fordham University.  In our first match at Vassar, I carried the ball into contact and was brought down after a gain of a few yards.  When I stood up I felt my quad screaming in pain, but I was still able to stand and run effectively enough.  I managed to block out the pain in my leg enough to finish playing the rest of the game.  After the match was over, however, I had to be assisted to walk over to the bus, and was unable to walk when I got back to school.  I had a difficult time for the next few weeks, but I was able to play in our next match since we got a two week break.  By the end of the season my quad had completely healed, but I found out that I had torn my quad during my initial injury.  I was surprised that I had been able to play the rest of the game, and realized that the reason I was able to was probably due to the adrenaline during the game.  While I didn’t do anything that scored points, I felt that this was an impressive display of my body’s resiliency, and it was something that I never really thought my body was capable of until then.

I have always been interested in the way the human body works.  It’s one of the reasons that has driven me towards my interest in orthopedics and becoming a doctor.  I was unable to major in Bioengineering here as a transfer, so I enjoy taking classes that have a focus in the subject.  Exercise physiology interests me, because I feel like I will gain a better understanding of the way in which the human body works and handles physical strain.  I am hoping to learn more about joint and overall body health as a result of exercise, and how it plays a role in the long-term life of our bodies.  I also am hoping to learn about the biological and biochemical processes that occur in order for our bodies to function as they do.

I plan on using my background in Biochemistry to help me to understand the mechanisms that occur for our bodies to function effectively.  I have some basic knowledge of action potentials and the chemical processes that allow us to move.  I also have an in-depth understanding of the hormone pathways involved in regulating steroid hormones, and I believe that will give me a good base from which to discuss steroid usage in sports.  I am hoping to connect my Biochemistry major to allow myself and others to understand how the body works most effectively on a molecular level.