Here at Colby-Sawyer, we take great pride in the success of our student-athletes on the field, in the classroom, and in the real world. Our student-athletes listed below have been successful in their endeavors prior to and after their graduation. We have highlighted some recent exercise science majors who are currently attending or will be attending professional programs in medicine and physical therapy.
Brady Dion
Baseball
Class of 2018
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
"I am currently in my 2
nd year of medical school at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. I graduated Colby-Sawyer with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Chemistry. I worked as a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Specialist at Central Maine Medical Center for 1 year after graduating while I applied to medical school."
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in medicine?
"My time at Colby-Sawyer prepared me for my medical school journey by providing challenging and integrative coursework, an engaging learning environment, and an immense amount of research and volunteer activities. As a student athlete at Colby-Sawyer, I learned how to manage my time wisely and maintain a balanced lifestyle which has benefited me throughout my medical school experience thus far."
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"My long-term goal is to become a primary care sports medicine physician which will allow me to incorporate the knowledge I gained in the exercise science field and apply it to medicine."
Curtis Warren
Track & Field
Class of 2018
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
"I am about to graduate with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy in May from the University of New England and am currently studying for my licensure exam and applying to jobs in Maine."
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in PT?
"Colby-Sawyer set me up with a strong background knowledge and skill set required to be a successful PT student and provided me with the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities that strengthened me resume and provided me with valuable skills not able to be learned in the classroom."
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"My long term goals include founding my own health and wellness center that facilitates continued progression toward a healthy lifestyle after physical therapy treatment has ended, advocating for societal reform regarding the treatment and case management of individuals with substance use disorder, and coaching track and fields at the high school and collegiate levels."
Alison Fairbairn
Cross Country and Track & Field
Class of 2020
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in PT?
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"I am finishing my first year of the DPT (doctorate of physical therapy) program at Boston University. This spring, I am on a part-time integrated clinical experience in an outpatient orthopedic clinic and will be doing my first full-time clinical in a similar setting this summer. The pre-PT track at Colby-Sawyer made it easy for me to take all the prerequisites required for the programs I wanted to apply to without having to take classes elsewhere. I also spent time in a couple outpatient clinics as my internships and found these to be very valuable experiences because even though I hadn't been exposed to courses specific to the field, I was able to see how my undergraduate education was preparing me for the next steps. Since beginning the DPT program, I have learned that there are so many more settings and specialties available to physical therapists than I ever imagined, so I expect my goals will evolve as I experience more of those settings and learn more about the profession. That being said, my current goal is to find a setting where I can work with pediatric patients and/or patients learning to use prostheses."
Katy Harris
Alpine Ski
Class of 2020
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
"I am currently at the University of Montana pursuing my doctorate in Physical Therapy. I am also a certified personal trainer and work with teams or individuals over the summers and during next school year."
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in PT?
"Colby-Sawyer provided me with opportunities to participate in prerequisites for applying to PT school. My combination of being a double major and being on the school's ski team prepared me to work hard, manage my time, communicate and respect others. My time in the exercise science degree at CSC taught me to love movement, exercise, and the human body. It really pushed me into wanting to pursue a career in physical therapy."
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"I will graduate from UM in 2023. I plan to pursue a full-time job as a physical therapist. I am still deciding which setting I would like to work in, but most likely an outpatient orthopedic, a business setting such as a fire or police station, or wild land PT (There's a lot of settings I need to explore before deciding!). I would like to gain certifications for canine physical therapy and work part time with animals and humans. And somewhere in there I would love to work as a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer!"
Alexis LaPointe
Women's Soccer
Class of 2020
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
"Since graduating Colby-Sawyer College as an Exercise Science major, I applied my knowledge acquired at CSC in multiple ways. After taking the Exercise Prescription course my senior year, I was eligible to take the exam from the American College of Sports Medicine to become a Certified Exercise Physiologist. I earned my certification during June 2020 shortly after graduation. During that same month, I also started my journey as a physical therapy (PT) student in the Post Baccalaureate Physical Therapy program at Northeastern University's Bouvé College of Health Sciences."
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in PT?
"Throughout a year of graduate school experience, I found the education I learned in many of my classes at CSC to assist in the concentrated learning of PT. It is exciting to be in class and recognize some of the information learned in undergrad, making me feel more confident in applying the information and providing educated responses to questions. Having internship experiences during undergrad played a large role in solidifying my passion for PT, so I am grateful for those opportunities and feel it is an important part of the learning process. Colby-Sawyer was a place where I found so many life-long friends and role models who support and encourage me to achieve my goals."
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"In 2023, I hope to earn my Doctorate of Physical Therapy and become a licensed PT. I am unsure of where I see myself in terms of a PT setting; inpatient, outpatient, traveling PT, or in a specific concentration, such as sports or pediatrics, but I am hoping between my outpatient experiences at CSC and my cooperative education and clinical experiences at Northeastern, this will be clearer by the time I graduate. My overall goal is to share my knowledge with others and make a positive impact on people's lives by potentially opening my own practice. Physical activity and exercise are such a key part of maintaining one's overall health and wellbeing and I will continue to be an advocate for living an active lifestyle throughout my life."
Raina Ceryak
Women's Soccer
Class of 2020
Tell me what you are up to as far as your current role in the Exercise Science community?
"I am currently in my second semester of my first year of PT school at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. All of my exercise science knowledge from CSC has certainly come in as I'm currently taking courses full of anatomy, Kinesiology, and biomechanics."
How did your time at Colby-Sawyer prepared you for your career in PT?
"Colby-Sawyer prepared me for PT school in more ways that I realized during my time there. Being a member and captain of the women's soccer team taught me how to be both a leader and team member which have been vital to working with my peers and fellow colleagues in school. Additionally, having the opportunity to interact with students at CSC in majors such as Athletic Training, Public Health, and Nursing really helped me understand that healthcare is a collaborative field and how each field can collaborate to provide the best patient care. This understanding & appreciation has really helped me in PT school as well. Finally, I would not have ever been able to accomplish the things I have without the help and guidance from the ESS faculty, Coaches, and Sports Medicine staff at CSC. All of these individuals shared their passion and knowledge with me and helped me capitalize on my strengths and grow during my time at Colby-Sawyer."
What are your long-term goals that involve Exercise Science?
"Currently, my long-term goals include completing my doctorate in physical therapy and passing my boards so that in three years I can be a practicing PT. I have a love for sports medicine and am currently interesting in working in pediatric sports medicine after graduating, but there's so many areas of physical therapy I have yet to experience so I am excited for all that is to come. I also hope in the future to continue utilizing my exercise science degree in earning my CSCS and continuing with my passion for coaching youth athletics!"
Owen Cottle
Baseball
Class of 2021
What are you plans after graduation?
"After graduation in May, I will be attending South College's Doctor of Physical Therapy program. The program is a two-year hybrid-style model, meaning there will be a mix of remote and on-campus learning. I will be living at home taking classes during most of the quarter, but I will fly down to Tennessee once per quarter to take part in on-campus lab intensives."
How do you think Colby-Sawyer has prepared you for your career in Exercise Science?
"I believe that Colby-Sawyer has set me up in a very positive manner for my future career as a physical therapist. Colby-Sawyer privileged me with numerous academic and athletic opportunities that many other schools couldn't. At Colby-Sawyer, I had the opportunity to complete four internships during the summer and winter breaks, take numerous elective courses that were directly related to my future career, and be a teacher's assistant for two different courses. Colby-Sawyer offers a somewhat broad range of exercise science courses ranging from coaching courses to a strength and conditioning course that is designed to help students attain a variety of different certifications in the field."
"I also had the opportunity to get close with multiple professors at the college, two of whom wrote letters of recommendation for me while I was going through the process of applying to graduate schools. At larger schools, oftentimes with larger classrooms, students aren't able to interact with professors to the same extent. Almost every exercise science course at Colby-Sawyer has less than 30 students enrolled in it, allowing for a much better experience in my opinion."
What are your plans after graduating from PT school?
"In the future, my most immediate plan is to sit for a licensure exam and become a licensed physical therapist. Eventually, my goal is to work at a clinic that specializes in athletic injuries or open my own clinic that targets the same clientele. Down the road, I plan to also look into becoming a professor at a physical therapy or physical therapist assistant program."
Noah Yeingst
Baseball
Class of 2021
What are you plans after graduation?
"After graduation I plan on relaxing for about one month. Then, beginning in June I will be attending MGH Institute in Boston for their Doctor of Physical Therapy program."
How do you think Colby-Sawyer has prepared you for your career in Exercise Science?
"I believe Colby-Sawyer has done a tremendous job in preparing me for what comes after graduation and in the rest of my future physical therapy career. I have had amazing professors in the ESS department that have helped me get to this point because of their great teaching abilities. In addition, I have had two truly great internship experiences that were able to connect what I learned in the classroom and apply it to real world situations. My learning will never truly be over as I continue to grow and develop as a professional through my future experiences. Colby-Sawyer has set me up with a great knowledge base to pull from and has instilled in me a passionate desire to learn. I could not ask for a better undergraduate experience than the one the ESS department at Colby-Sawyer provided me.
What are your plans after graduating from PT school?
"After graduating PT school, I am sure I will celebrate for a while this dream come true which has been a long-term goal of mine for many years. I think the next step will be to find a job in a place that suits me and puts myself in a position to have success. As of right now I am leaning towards outpatient orthopedic PT, but many things can change in three years. After that I plan on enjoying my work, honing my craft, and seeing where life takes me!"
