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Believing the Impossible: Illinois wheelchair athlete Hoda Elshorbagy overcame the odds

April 17, 2025 | Jonathan King

Hoda Elshorbagy’s journey from rural Egypt to central Illinois was an unlikely story, a path littered with numerous obstacles.

*Hoda Elshorbagy aims to develop the sport of wheelchair racing and become Egypt’s first qualified wheelchair racing coach (Photo provided)*

By JONATHAN KING

In her home in southern Egypt, Hoda Elshorbagy glanced at the TV, then turned to her father with clear-eyed conviction and said, “One day, I’m going to do that.”

Without missing a beat, he said, “Yes—you need to be one of them.”

Elshorbagy and her father were glued to the 2016 Paralympic Games that day in their rural village when they saw for the first time a sport that would become Hoda’s passion: Wheelchair racing.

Only eight years later, Elshorbagy—now a member of the Illinois wheelchair racing team—finished 10th in the women’s wheelchair division of the 128th Boston Marathon. The timing seemed improbable, but for those who know Elshorbagy and her determination, it was no surprise.

Elshorbagy’s journey from rural Egypt to central Illinois was an unlikely story, a path littered with numerous obstacles.

At eight months old, she was paralyzed due to a medical error. With her parents’ help, she endured 13 surgeries, enabling her a degree of mobility supported by crutches and braces. Elshorbagy then discovered adaptive sports and chose discus throwing and weightlifting. But wheelchair racing? She didn’t own a wheelchair and wheelchair racing was unfathomable in Egypt, where wheelchair accessibility is uncommon.

Without a wheelchair, team or coach, what was she to do?

Elshorbagy traveled to Cairo to meet with adaptive sport leaders but met resistance. Still, she was unbowed.

“When they told me ‘No, no, no,’ I heard ‘Yes, yes, yes,’” she said.

So, she ventured into the unknown and found someone to build a custom wheelchair, and she worked with a friend to fabricate custom gloves. She used YouTube to find videos of the Illinois wheelchair team and Coach Adam Bleakney. To understand Bleakney’s videos, though, she had to learn English. She dreamed that one day she would join the Illinois team to learn from Bleakney face to face. For seven years, she planned, prayed, persevered and practiced.

And then came her break.

She applied for and was awarded a grant by the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Elshorbagy traveled to the U.S. for one week at the invitation of CAF Coach Carlos Moleda. This experience further ignited the fire in her belly. Returning to Egypt, Elshorbagy began to contact anyone she could find on Facebook who might be able to help make a connection that would open a door to the prestigious Illinois wheelchair team.

“How can I get to Illinois and train with Coach Bleakney? That question fueled me,” she said. “Eventually, someone introduced me to Coach Marty Morse (DRES’ first wheelchair track and field coach), and he became my online coach for the next year and a half.”

And then came the news. Coach Morse invited Elshorbagy to come to Illinois in April 2023. What was originally planned as an introductory visit to fit her for a racing chair turned into Bleakney encouraging her to enroll in Parkland College as a precursor to becoming a student at Illinois and then the Illinois wheelchair racing team.

Today, two years later, Elshorbagy is a kinesiology student in the College of Applied Health Sciences and the newest recipient of the Morse-Hedrick Scholarship, created by Illinois alumna and decorated Paralympian Jean Driscoll in honor of her coaches, Morse and Brad Hedrick.

“Hoda had a very difficult time pursuing her athletic goals, but she kept pushing forward, literally and figuratively. She has an incredibly strong spirit and her determination is beyond compare,” Driscoll said. “Hoda aligns with the spirit of this scholarship through her commitment to excellence, doing the work required to get stronger, trusting her coach and the training process, respecting everyone from teammates to race directors and organizers, and having a fire inside that drives her to be the best she can be. She is very deserving of this scholarship. Hoda has a promising future, and a vision that will undoubtedly touch many lives.”

The Morse-Hedrick scholarship provides financial assistance to undergraduate students with disabilities who participate in athletic programs through Disability Resources and Educational Services. The DRES program has been an incubator for the growth and success of students with disabilities since its inception in 1948. Morse and Hedrick, alumni of the College of Applied Health Sciences, are internationally known for their dedication to coaching and mentoring athletes with disabilities, including numerous Paralympic champions.

“Words cannot describe how it feels to have this support,” said a glowing and grateful Elshorbagy. “I’m surrounded by the best athletes and coaches in this sport, and I have a home away from home at Illinois. I’m living a dream.”

In her brief career on the Illinois team, Hoda has finished third in the Illinois Half Marathon, 10th in the Boston Marathon, seventh in the Chicago Marathon, sixth in the New York City Marathon and will compete in her second Boston Marathon later this month.

But Elshorbagy’s dreams don’t stop there.

Upon the completion of a master’s degree in kinesiology, Elshorbagy has a vision to return to Egypt to help others who face similar challenges that have marked her journey. In her home country, the field of kinesiology is not available for those with disabilities. Elshorbagy wants to change that. Equipped with her kinesiology education from Illinois, she wants to educate and train others with disabilities in Egypt. As a wheelchair athlete, Elshorbagy aims to develop the sport of wheelchair racing and become Egypt’s first qualified wheelchair racing coach.

“Hoda will be successful at whatever she does. She is a woman with determination and vision,” Bleakney said. “Our wheelchair community at Illinois serves as an incubator for her continual growth in the sport. If all goes well, I’m confident we are going to be able to get Hoda onto the Egyptian national team for the 2025 or 2027 World Championships.”

For Elshorbagy, who once sat watching the Paralympic wheelchair racers on TV, the dream of being one of those Paralympians is suddenly within reach. The 2028 games in Los Angeles are on the horizon. Twelve years after that memorable day with her father, Elshorbagy is hopeful to be one of those athletes herself. This time, her father will watch, not on TV, but in person, seeing his daughter represent their country and bringing hope to others like her to do what some say was impossible.

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Tags: Hoda Elshorbagy, Moving Forward 2025, wheelchair athlete

Alumni Spotlight: Haley Bauman

Oct. 23, 2023 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Haley Bauman graduated from the University of Illinois in August 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation, sport and tourism. She told us about her internship program this summer.

This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to complete a 10-week internship as an activities field support agent for the Catalina Island Co. My initial connection to this company was through an online job search, which led to a seasonal position as a sales agent in the summer of 2022.

After experiencing an incredible season on Catalina Island, I knew that once this opportunity came to an end it would not be the last time I worked for this company. This past spring, I partnered with their tours and activities management team to create an entirely new position that aligned with the RST Internship Program.

I chose Catalina Island for my internship site because I thought it would be the best fit for my future career goals in the eco-tourism industry. Additionally, the Catalina Island Co. provides numerous opportunities for employees to try out multiple positions within their tours and activities department. I decided to do my internship in California because I am hoping to move there post-graduation. Having connections in the location where you plan to live is crucial for your employment in the future.

As a field support agent in the tours and activities department, my primary responsibilities included guiding tourists and helping with any questions or concerns, packaging tours and activities in a cost-efficient and time-friendly manner and assisting co-workers with daily tasks. Additionally, I assisted my internship supervisor with office and onsite jobs, such as setting up signage for cruise ships, adjusting balance sheets and organizing work spaces to maintain a clean and happy work environment. The unique eco-tourism opportunities I packaged, sold and guided guests to partake in ranged from semi-submersible rides and bison expeditions to eco-ziplining tours.

A major positive aspect of this internship experience was that it provided me with the opportunity to practice a work-life balance in the real world. Through trial and error, I found which strategies worked best to keep me happy and healthy during this process. Another key aspect was that I have grown personally and professionally, which allowed me to reach the goals I had set for myself—especially in the areas of communication and customer service. This internship also helped me discover a major life lesson: not everything needs to go according to plan for you to be successful. In fact, most things won’t go according to plan and that’s OK because it’s the problem-solving and outcome that dictates your success.

Although my internship has ended, I am continuing to work with the Catalina Island Co. as a sales agent for the tours and activities department through the remainder of the season in October. This opportunity has been such an incredible learning experience and I am excited to continue to grow with this position. Overall, I would definitely recommend interning for this company as it provides hands-on experiences to help individuals build confidence and a better understanding of what interests them in the field of recreation, sport and tourism.

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Tags: alumni, Haley Bauman, RST Newsletter Fall 2023

Get to Know: Miki Sato, RST assistant professor

March 07, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

Get to Know: Miki Sato, assistant professor in Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the College of Applied Health Sciences

Miki Sato joined the College of Applied Health Sciences in 2020, after six years at James Madison University.

How would you describe your primary research interests?

My primary line of research focuses on exploring how and why engagement in sport-related consumption activities, such as sport participation and sport spectatorship, can contribute to improved health, health-related behaviors, and overall well-being.

I have conducted research in various sport settings, including participatory sport events (e.g., running events, walking events), fitness clubs, spectator sport events, and the Olympic Games.

What are you working on right now?

I am involved in research projects that examine the health benefits of sport participation and park and recreational facility availability within communities. Additionally, we are working on projects that explore the distinct roles of various sport participation locations, such as parks, fitness clubs, and community recreation centers, in promoting sport participation behaviors and enhancing well-being.

Regarding sport spectatorship, we are conducting projects that examine how engagement in professional sporting events, both through behavioral live spectating and psychological identification with professional sport teams, is associated with consumer well-being. We recently published a paper that provides evidence supporting sport spectatorship as a form of experiential consumption that fosters happiness among sport fans.

What’s a fun fact you’d like to share about yourself? What do you like to do in your free time?

I am a big fan of track and field and long-distance running. One of my childhood idols was Carl Lewis, who won nine Olympic gold medals in sprint and long-jump events. I am also a recreational runner.

Since moving to Illinois, I have participated in the Illinois Marathon’s 10k race twice. The event was incredibly well-organized, and I recommend it to runners of all levels, from novices to experienced athletes!

Editor’s note:

To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu.

Tags: College of Applied Health Sciences, Get To Know, Miki Sato

Yogi, OT, teacher, researcher: Kinesiology Ph.D. candidate explores yoga for pain management

April 01, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

The question that guides her research: How might yoga be used to manage chronic pain?

*Stephanie Voss poses outside of Freer Hall.*

To doctoral candidate Stephanie Voss, chronic pain treatment and yoga have more in common than we think.

Voss, now in her third year of a kinesiology Ph.D program at the University of Illinois, first came across the connection while working as an occupational therapist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a rehabilitation research hospital in Chicago.

While she consulted patients who were dealing with persistent, chronic pain, Voss was training to become a yoga instructor—an out-of-class hobby that helped her overcome her own studying-induced back pain.

“I couldn’t get over how similar the treatment approaches are,” Voss said. “Yoga is very much a holistic practice, and we address chronic pain in very much a similar way—it involves working as part of an interdisciplinary team on strength and muscle conditioning and posture and body mechanics. We also work on the psychological components, the emotional components and how we can integrate pain management strategies into daily life.”

Today, Voss’s research at the College of Applied Health Sciences merges the two: How might yoga be used to manage lasting pain?

This fall, she was named a recipient of the Paul D. Doolen Graduate Scholarship for the Study of Aging, an annual award given to two University of Illinois graduate students whose scholarly work advances research on the human aging process.

With the help of the Doolen scholarship, Voss will develop a yoga protocol that specifically targets interoception, or the ability to perceive and interpret the sensations within one’s own body, an ability which may fade as we age.

The project will explore whether yoga can improve older adults’ abilities detect and interpret feelings of pain and discomfort within their bodies.

“I found [the scholarship] relevant to my research because most of my patients are older adults,” she said. “Chronic pain is immensely prevalent in older adult populations for various reasons but interestingly older adults tend to not be included in pain trials as often.”

It’s so immensely important that my research questions are rooted in the clinical needs of the patients.”

Stephanie Voss

Kinesiology Ph.D. candidate

What the $4,250 scholarship gives her for now is “breathing room,” Voss said. “Being a grad student isn’t always easy from a financial standpoint, so having a little bit of extra support to free up my time and mental space, it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Voss received her B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University in 2014 and her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Rush University in 2018.

She began at the University of Illinois in August 2021, working under former Illinois KCH Associate Professor Neha Gothe in Gothe’s Exercise Psychology Lab. Gothe was one of the only academics exploring the connection between yoga and pain management. Voss, then fully working as an occupational therapist, reached out to Gothe over email, expressing her desire to pursue a Ph.D. under her.

Since then, Voss has worked as a research assistant and teaching assistant, having instructed an introductory-level yoga class while periodically working with patients at the AbilityLab in Chicago. She recently taught the yoga intervention for one of Gothe’s research studies working with older adults.

“That got to really challenge my clinical and yoga teaching skills to integrate modifying postures for people who live in different bodies than mine,” Voss said. “It’s so immensely important that my research questions are rooted in the clinical needs of the patients. I want to make sure I’m still in touch with that population.”

When Gothe departed Illinois for Northeastern University in Boston, Voss decided to stay and finish the final stages of her Ph.D. program, with KCH Professor Steve Petruzzello stepping up as her on-site doctoral co-advisor.

“She’s very smart, and very personable,” said Petruzzello, who first met Voss while she made insightful comments in his class, KIN 443: Psychophysiology of Exercise & Sport. “It’s just refreshing for somebody to have such a good perspective on the science of what she does, but to also be very respectful and willing to take criticism for what it’s worth.”

Both her mentors described Voss as a methodical, talented researcher whose clinical experience has given her unique perspective and a deft ability to communicate scientific concepts to different audiences.

“She has an eye for translation and application of the research in clinical as well as real-life settings,” Gothe said. “Her years of yoga training and teaching also give her a unique advantage to work and communicate with her patients and research subjects.”

After her graduation, expected in spring 2025, Voss hopes to work in a hybrid clinical-academic position. In the meantime, Voss has seen great recruitment interest in her dissertation research, examining yoga as a strategy for chronic pain management.

“I do feel like I will be leaving with a degree that gives me a lot of opportunity and flexibility that I can teach in occupational therapy departments. I’ll be fully qualified for that, but I’ll also be fully qualified to teach in more traditional academic university-based settings that are not necessarily a clinical program,” Voss said.

Editor’s note:

Stephanie Voss completed her Ph.D. at Illinois in May 2025.

Tags: alumni, Kinesiology, Neha Gothe, Stephanie Voss, Steve Petruzzello, Yoga

Serving the profession through mentorship

July 10, 2022 | Anna Flanagan

A CFY pairs a first-year practitioner with an experienced practitioner in a mentoring relationship designed to ease the transition between student and independent provider of clinical services

When students take on their first professional position after completing their master’s degrees in speech and hearing science with a focus on speech-language pathology, they must also begin what is called a Clinical Fellowship Year, or CFY, required by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). The CFY pairs a first-year practitioner with an experienced practitioner in a mentoring relationship designed to ease the transition between student and independent provider of clinical services.

Theodora Papastratakos completed her master’s degree in 2015 and her CFY during the 2015-2016 school year, her first with Aldrin Elementary School in Schaumburg.

“You dive right in, which is why you have a clinical fellowship supervisor,” she said. “It’s so different from being in graduate school and doing your clinical externships versus managing your own caseload. It’s a big leap.”

She found her own CFY experience positive, but also knew there were things she would have liked to change. During her first several years of practice at Aldrin Elementary, Theo felt she was still learning so much that she could not supervise a clinical fellowship. In the fall of 2021, the department head reached out to her to see if she’d be willing to supervise a new SLP who would be joining the school part time.

“I’d been practicing for seven years, and I think I realized that I do know a lot,” she said. “I was excited to share some of that knowledge with somebody coming into the field.”

She took the training course offered by ASHA and welcomed May 2021 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign SHS graduate Rachel Deichstetter to Aldrin Elementary as her first mentee. Some of Theo’s role involved just being available to Rachel to answer questions, walk her through district policies and procedures, and give feedback on her ideas.

“I would review her goals and the reports that she was writing and help her as needed,” Theo said. “I watched some of her therapy sessions and gave her feedback throughout the year. If she was experiencing something for the first time, I might help a little bit more. Toward the end of the year, she was practicing independently.”

Theo enjoyed assisting with Rachel’s transition from student to professional and working with someone fresh out of graduate school. “It was fun to see her gain more confidence throughout the year,” she said. “Sometimes when you’ve been practicing for a while, you get stuck in what you’re doing. Rachel brought fresh ideas and new ways of doing things.”

Theo will continue working at Aldrin Elementary while Rachel joins another school in the Schaumburg district for 2022-2023. “I’ll remain a resource for her in the future if she has questions or needs to bounce ideas off someone,” she said. She looks forward to her next opportunity to supervise a clinical fellow and mentor another budding speech-language pathologist into the profession.

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Tags: alumni

Oversen’s road to a Fulbright grant was paved by family

June 27, 2022 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Spanish was spoken in her childhood home

*When she completes her Fulbright stay, Amanda Oversen plans on applying for graduate school*

Amanda Oversen’s interest in linguistics has a very clear inspiration: her mom.

Oversen, a Speech and Hearing Science major who graduated in December 2021, was recently awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Spain. Her goal is to become a bilingual speech-language pathologist for elementary school-aged students.

That makes sense given her curiosity about languages, which she credits to her mother.

“My mom is from Honduras. She immigrated to the U.S. when she was 16. And interestingly enough, she moved to the U.S. because she wanted to learn English. She also has this curiosity about language, which I think kind of rubbed off on me,” Oversen said.

While in Spain, Oversen plans to learn Spanish Sign Language and connect with the local deaf community. She also is interested in how to cultivate cultural-linguistic diversity in the American school system.

“I think when we learn a different language, it opens up just so many doors,” she said. “You’re able to understand people on a different level. I find that really fascinating. I think a lot of that had to do with my mom growing up bilingual, too.”

Oversen, who is from Highland Park, Ill., served as a teaching assistant in the Child Development Laboratory in SHS, which amplified her desire to work with children.

“I loved how curious kids were, and how everything was new to them, how the tiniest thing—something that comes so commonly to adults—was mind-blowing to kids,” she said. “I just love the fascination that they had with things that adults take for granted. I think it would just be cool to help kids progress, and find confidence in their voice, despite the fact that they may have a speech or a language disorder.”

Picking Spain for her Fulbright application was an easy choice. Spanish was spoken in her childhood home, and she studied abroad in southern Granada during her sophomore year. Teaching in Spain has a family connection as well, as Oversen’s brother went there to teach English.

This time, Oversen will be stationed in the Canary Islands.

“The Canary Islands was never really on my radar, so when I found out I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s going to be quite an experience.’ I’ve never lived on an island before.”

Since graduation, Oversen has been working as an assistant teacher at an early childhood education center in Northbrook, Ill. When she completes her Fulbright stay, she plans on applying for graduate school, with the University of Illinois on the list.

“I’ve made kind of a master list of graduate schools. Almost all the schools are in Illinois, and a few out-of-state options. But I think I’d like to stay close to home, whether that be in Champaign or in Chicago.”

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.

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Tags: alumni, Amanda Oversen, Fulbright

Chez Center hosts program to ready veterans for higher ed

Aug. 1, 2024 | Ethan Simmons

*Apsan Bishwokarma looks over notes in a Warrior-Scholar Project class, hosted at the Chez Veterans Center. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)*

While Adam Sherman Jr. sat for the two-hour bus ride from Chicago O’Hare Airport to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, a pit was forming in his stomach.

He’d spent six years in the Navy, stationed in Japan and California for three years apiece, sometimes working out at sea for six or 12 months at a time. But a few preparatory problem sets for the Warrior-Scholar Project’s academic boot camp had him stumped.

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to knock off the dust and the rust to get going in this program,” said Sherman, who grew up in New Jersey.

After spending four days in the camp absorbing astronomy and physics lectures from University of Illinois faculty at the Chez Veterans Center, Sherman’s first taste of higher education was going “really smooth,” he said.

“They broke it down in a way that’s really digestible, and they’re building it up in a way where it’s really fast-paced, but it’s comprehensible,” he said.

This July, 15 student Veterans took classes and teamed up on projects in the Chez Veterans Center, the University of Illinois’ one-stop shop for military-connected students. The center has hosted the nonprofit Warrior-Scholar Project for the three consecutive years.

The Warrior-Scholar Project, or WSP for short, takes place in college campuses across the country as an eight-day higher ed experience for military Veterans of all ages.

The WSP and Chez Veterans Center’s missions are aligned—both are dedicated to easing the transition of military-connected students back into education and civilian life.

“The premise of WSP is really about showing them they can do it, giving them the confidence they can leave the military and go to a place like the University of Illinois,” said Chez Veterans Center Director of Operations Andy Bender.

“I think what’s great for us in particular is (WSP) follows our mission. We’re all about the successful transition from the military into higher education—this is a good steppingstone for it. But it also gets a lot of our campus partners who may not have connections to the military to come and meet these students.”

WSP Education Programs Coordinator Rebecca Mills called Illinois’ Chez Veterans Center one of the program’s “top campus stakeholders,” for going “above and beyond” for student cohorts. A core component for both organizations: Showing Veterans that the talents they’ve built in the service are transferable to the classroom.

“It’s less the content—we know they’re capable, we know they have the experience. But how do they use the skills they developed in the military to be successful in higher ed?” Mills said.

Warrior-Scholar Project student-veterans chat during a tour of Hourglass Medical in Illinois Research Park, alongside Chez Veterans Center staff. — *A whopping 88 percent of Warrior-Scholar Project alumni have either obtained a college degree or are on track to complete one (Photo by Ethan Simmons)*

Some students, such as Sherman, enter the Warrior-Scholar Project with no college credits. Others, such as Sergio Perez Jr., a 26-year-old Marine Corps veteran from Oklahoma, used WSP to re-familiarize himself with the pace of university life.

When he left the service in October 2023, he “had one goal in mind: and that was to go back and finish my degree,” he said.

“For me, WSP was a ‘two birds with one stone’ type of deal, because University of Illinois was actually one of the schools I’m thinking about applying to in the future,” Perez added. “When I saw they still had openings for this, I thought, ‘You know what? I can do a quick campus tour while still self improving.’ So this has given me a better understanding of how this campus functions.”

A whopping 88 percent of Warrior-Scholar Project alumni have either obtained a college degree or are on track to complete one, according to their internal statistics. This year, Illinois also hosted WSP’s annual alumni conference, where bootcamp graduates return to network and listen to industry professionals with military connections.

A Veteran careers panel discussion included Mona Dexter, Comcast’s vice president of Military and Veteran Affairs; Michael Pett, Uber’s head of Military and Veteran Programs at Uber; Erica Jeffries Purdo, vice president of Strategy and Operations at Johnson & Johnson; and Tommy Jones, senior director of Military and Talent Programs at Walmart.

During the campus visit, the student cohort got to tour Research Park businesses such as Caterpillar’s Innovation Center and Hourglass Medical, a wearable technology company. Before they left campus, Chez staff brought them to a celebratory visit to the Colonnades Club in Memorial Stadium, itself a tribute to U. of I. veterans who fought in World War I.

“Illinois might be one of the best-kept secrets in higher ed; You walk into a building and learn about a Nobel prize winner who invented something you use every day,” Bender said. “We’ve had a couple people who’ve told us, ‘I wanna come here.’”

Editor’s note:

To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu.

Tags: Andy Bender, Chez Veterans Center, Warrior-Scholar Project

Skating career led to kinesiology studies for Weinstein

April 08, 2022 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

It was a circuitous route to the University of Illinois for Lindsay Weinstein

*Lindsay Weinstein recently found out she was accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago*

At one time in her life, Lindsay Weinstein thought admitting she needed a physical therapist meant she was “weak.” Now she is studying to be one.

The four-time national medalist figure skater is now a kinesiology major in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois. Weinstein, 22, recently found out she was accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, one of the top DPT programs in the country.

It was a circuitous route to the University of Illinois for Weinstein, a Buffalo Grove, Ill., native who left home at the age of 15 to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for Figure Skating in Colorado Springs, Colo. But for Weinstein, the ice patch began long before that.

“A lot of parents from my hometown put their kids into beginner skating around the age of three,” Weinstein said. “Around that age, my older brother had best friends performing in the local ice show at the rink that would end up becoming my home rink. And my parents took me and my brother to go watch it. And I’m watching them on the ice, and I looked up at my mom, and I was, like, ‘I can do that. I know I can do that.’ And my mom replied, ‘Whatever.’”

Weinstein’s mother had been reluctant to sign her up because her brother had not enjoyed skating and “made my mom’s life miserable. Every time they got to the rink, he would start crying. She (said) ‘I’m not signing you up. I don’t want to go through that again.’”

But Weinstein did not relent.

“Being the three-year-old little menace that I was, every time we drove past the rink, I would say, ‘Well have you signed me up? Have you signed me up? Why haven’t you signed me up? I know I can do that. Why haven’t you signed me up?’ And I just kept insisting that I could do it.

And so finally, I would say it took four months before they finally did it. And I got on the ice, and it was just like true love.”

It might have been love, but it was not always easy, Weinstein admits.

“You learn from a very early age in figure skating that it’s not a sport that you can be in halfway,” she said. “It’s not a sport that’s like a hobby. I was skating at 6:20 a.m. before school, getting picked up at 7:30, being taken to school. I had a special schedule. So I’d get picked up from school at maybe like 2 p.m., three periods before anyone else. And I would go back to the rink and go skate. It was my life. I wasn’t doing normal things, like having sleepovers, like the other kids were.”

Starting at the tender age of six, Weinstein began competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Association (USFSA) events. She competed for several years as a singles competitor but found her true passion was in pairs skating. By May 2013, she had partnered with Jacob Simon, and in their first season together, they won the pewter medal (fourth place) in the Novice level at the 2014 U.S. Championships. After this competition, Weinstein and Simon were named to Team USA and sent on several international assignments to compete at the Junior level on behalf of the United States of America.

At the 2015 U.S. Championships, the team earned another pewter medal, this time at the Junior level. Around this time, U.S. Figure Skating approached Weinstein and Simon about moving to Colorado to train at a more elite facility. Her partner, a senior in high school, planned to either go to college or to Colorado to train.

“At 14, I was put in a position where ‘Do I want to do this for a living? Am I willing to give up a normal high school life, a normal kid life for this?’ And I made the decision, ‘Yes, it is worth it to me,” she said.

Weinstein and Simon—without their parents—moved to Colorado Springs to train at the Olympic Training Center. Skating was the top priority, not school.

“College wasn’t necessarily on my agenda. I wasn’t looking at colleges,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about college. I was thinking about getting through high school, and I was thinking about my skating career.”

That career began to bloom. Coached by Dalilah Sappenfield and Drew Meekins, Weinstein and Simon won the junior silver medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships and were named to the U.S. team for the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. The pair finished ninth overall in Hungary.

“That was definitely the highlight of both of our careers,” she said. “The season following was a tad difficult due to being a female, you start going through body changes. There is a lot of emphases and talk about body and eating.”

Around that time is when Weinstein first thought about kinesiology, although she didn’t know what kinesiology was at the time.

“I would say that was when I got my first pique of interest in physical therapy,” she said. “I have never been someone who had been injured. I had known so many people who had been off the ice with injuries. And I just was super lucky. I had never been injured. (But) when I moved to Colorado, and we were training at a more elite level, I started to feel a lot of impact on my knees.”

Reluctantly during that successful 2016 season, Weinstein started seeing a physical therapist.

“I hid the fact that my knees hurt,” she said. “I hid the fact from my coach. I hid the fact from my parents. And then finally the pain became too much. My right knee was my landing knee, and I was just wincing every single time I landed.”

Friends and colleagues advised her to see a physical therapist, “but I thought going to a physical therapist meant I was weak. I did not want to see one, which is interesting because now I am starting to become a physical therapist.”

That year was a turning point in many ways for Weinstein.

She and Simon were under pressure to stay certain sizes, and Weinstein especially felt “under a microscope” as she went through puberty at age 16. The Olympics, she realized, likely would not happen. Then 2017 became a year of change as she and Simon broke up—both professionally and romantically—and she decided to leave Colorado, where she felt mistreated by Sappenfield. Weinstein was one of several skaters to file complaints against Sappenfield with the United States Center for SafeSport, leading to Sappenfield’s suspension in October 2021 pending further investigation.

Weinstein ended up moving to Aliso Viejo, Calif., to train and rediscover her love for figure skating. But she also discovered something else.

“It helped me realize as much as I love this and as much as I am the person I am today because of skating, I’m ready to move on to something else,” she said.

That something else was physical therapy. A physical therapist who was treating her in California recommended applying to San Diego State; her father was convinced she needed to apply to more than one school, and she chose the University of Illinois, her dad’s alma mater. She got into both and chose San Diego State, but the temptations of the Southern California lifestyle made it challenging to stay academically motivated, Weinstein admitted.

But that changed when she transferred to Illinois.

“I’ve made Dean’s List every semester here,” she said. “The choice to come here, in particular, had a lot to do with proximity because I had been away from home since 15. And when I was in college at San Diego, I just realized it was way harder to be away from home in college.”

Weinstein, who will graduate in May, knew graduate school was the next step, but also knew she didn’t want to leave Illinois again. There are seven accredited DPT programs in Illinois, four in the Chicago area, close to home. She applied to Rosalind Franklin, Midwestern University, UIC, and Northwestern University, with UIC her top choice.

“I’d love to be in a big city,” she said, explaining her decision. “I’d love to not have to make all new friends again because I had to do that for San Diego and then again coming here to Illinois. Yes, UIC was my top choice, and I did get in.”

Weinstein knows a long road remains to complete her doctorate. But she knew the kinesiology program itself was no cakewalk.

“I will never forget sitting at my very first lecture and the advisor at San Diego (State) coming in and looking around the room and saying, ‘Most of you will not get into grad school. Honestly, a good portion of this room will probably not even be a kinesiology major next semester. This is a really hard major, and you will not achieve your dreams.’ And every semester that I made it through, I would just thank my lucky stars that I made it through,” she said.

After she completes her DPT program, Weinstein definitely has an idea of which populations she’d like to work with.

“I got into this as an athlete. And if I had the ideal situation that could come about for me, I would love to be a PT for a sports team. I would love to go watch practices, learn why injuries are happening, learn how to prevent them in specific regards to one specific sport.”

If not athletes, she’ll turn to another passion: children.

“I have always loved kids. I was the girl, who at 10 years old, was being driven to babysit. I adore kids. And if I could somehow go into (pediatrics), that would be my other dream. I feel like it would be awesome as a PT to work with girls that are around the same age as I was when things started kind of getting messy. And I can be there as somewhat of a guide to let them know the rights and wrongs of when someone’s talking about their body and body image and eating and eating disorders and depression. I do think that I could definitely make a huge impact as a PT for all people, whether athletes or not.”

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.

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SHS rising senior Jenna Pryor talks about her internship

July 06, 2021 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Students in the College of Applied Health Sciences have the opportunity to do their internships in a variety of fields. Today, we speak with Jenna Pryor, who is a rising senior in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, about her internship.

Q: What was your experience with The Autism Program?

A: I had many different experiences with The Autism Program, which is why I enjoyed it so much! We had observation hours watching an RBT interact with one of their clients. I also had hands-on experience working in the resource room making projects, communicating with other interns/clients, meeting new people, restocking the resource room and so much more! There was some slight research, we had to watch around 40 hours of training videos, those videos presented a great deal of information and expanded my knowledge for the internship and in general.

Q: How did you apply for the internship?

A: I initially heard about the internship through email from my consular. In the email, the application was attached. The instructions stated to fill out the application and then email it to the woman who conducts the interviews, Anne Hall. Later on I had an interview and then got offered the internship!

Q: What did you learn from the internship?

A: There are so many things that I have learned from this internship. I learned how to use different tools such as a laminator, different computer softwares, navigating a library database, answering phone calls, and creating books/stories. I also learned more about professionalism. Being in a resource room and interacting with different clients, interns, and coworkers in that setting gave me a better idea of how to behave as a professional. I also learned how amazing it is to step out of your comfort zone. I am not the most creative person, but I created and designed many different stories. It was great to work on my weaknesses and complete certain tasks that I do not have much experience on.

Q: What was your biggest take away from the experience?

A: My biggest takeaway from this experience is to give you all into everything that you do. I love helping and assisting others, and I got to use this strength of mine for many situations in this internship. It is important to give your all because not only are students/teachers/peers/parents/etc. using the resources that you make for them, a lot of individuals and families are counting on them. I’ve ran into situations where parents feel lost and need a sense of direction for their child. A diagnosis of autism for a parent who has a child with autism or the individual who has autism can be very overwhelming. I feel that The Autism Program helps ease the stress for these families. It is important to go above and beyond for all who come to us for resources/help.

Q: Is this internship closely related to the field you are hoping to work in?

A: Yes, this internship is closely related to the field I am hoping to work with. I am a speech and hearing science student with a speech-language pathology concentration. When I saw the RBT interact with the child during my observation sessions, this is a similar situation I could be experiencing in the future. Children who have autism also tend to see speech-language pathologists, it was great to learn more about autism. It will help me for my future career getting to know more about different disorders, as they could be my potential future clients.

Q: Would you like to share any other information that might be helpful for future SHS students?

A: If you have any opportunity to apply to an internship or get hands-on experience, do it! These are eye-opening experiences that help you expand your knowledge greatly. It also builds character and puts you in different situations. I have grown academically and emotionally from my first internship. These are experiences that you don’t get from your courses! Be sure to get to know your professors and utilize office hours. Building a relationship with your professors is very important. Professors love when students reach out for help or when students want to get to know them.

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.

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SHS alum Anjali Forber-Pratt named director of NIDILRR

May 24, 2021 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Forber-Pratt’s research is focused on disability identity, inclusion, disability sport, and work related to disability activism

*SHS alum Anjali Forber-Pratt named director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research*

Anjali Forber-Pratt, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Department of Speech and Hearing Science in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois, has been named as director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).

Forber-Pratt, most recently an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, is an elite wheelchair racer, having won two bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. She also represented Team USA in London at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Her research is focused on disability identity, inclusion, disability sport, and work related to disability activism. Forber-Pratt holds a B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences, an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology, and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development, all from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A two-time Paralympian and medalist in the sport of wheelchair racing, Dr. Forber-Pratt has dedicated her life to helping others recognize their potential. Globally, she is involved with disability advocacy efforts related to access to employment, education and sports. She was honored with the inaugural American Psychological Association Citizen Psychologist Award for Advancing Disability as a Human Rights and Social Justice Issue Award in 2020 and was recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as a 2018 Emerging Scholar. In 2013, she was awarded the American Association of People with Disabilities’ prestigious Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award, given to emerging leaders within the national disability community. Also in 2013, she was named a Champion of Change by the White House and had an opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion with President Obama about disability policy issues.

“I am extremely honored and humbled by this appointment as well as the opportunity to serve our country,” Forber-Pratt said in a statement. “From my U of I days, I distinctly remember being explicitly taught that we had an obligation as alums to make the world a better place and to be ambassadors, especially for the broader disability community. Dr. Timothy Nugent taught us that, and my coach Adam Bleakney and others reinforced that every day—it was always more than just our athletic journey or just our academic journey. Many of us have found our own unique ways to embody that—I believe serving as Director of the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research is one way that I will continue to try to serve the broader disability community and educate others. I believe my collective training—with two degrees in Speech & Hearing Sciences as well as my PhD in education that taught me the analytic research skills—it truly is the combination of these degrees and U of I experiences and my own lived experiences as a proud disabled alum that position me well to transition into this role.”

Forber-Pratt served as principal investigator for research projects covering a range of disability issues, including training of special education teachers, experiences of students with disabilities at every education level, and identity development. She has authored 33 peer-reviewed journal articles and is the author or co-author of a number of textbook chapters.

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.

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