Her Story
About Addison
I'm a freshman in college pursuing exercise science with plans to go into occupational therapy. I live with spinal muscular atrophy, and that personal experience showed me that a lot of fitness information wasn't necessarily equipped to help people with physical disabilities. That's what led me to pursue this path, because I believe that medicine and getting stronger is possible, but it's not as easy for people with physical disabilities. I've gained hands-on experience working as a physical therapy tech and as a kid's coach. Right now, I'm nannying for a lot of families and doing respite care while taking 3 online classes. I start my day pretty early, going to the gym with my friend, then doing homework and working with the families I support. I'm really proud of getting my personal training certification while I was still in high school and exploring that avenue. I'm currently working on getting my corrective exercise specialist certification, hopefully by the end of the summer. I'm also pretty involved in the startup garage at Calvin and my church. What I find most rewarding is just getting to help people, really, and see the difference it makes in their life. I plan to graduate early and go to OT school, and then probably work in research or in the nonprofit world.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Addison
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to God. With God, all things are possible, and that's been the key factor throughout my journey.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to just pursue your own path and don't try to follow whatever everyone else is doing, but just figure out what works for you. A lot of people try to follow someone else's path, and it might not work out for them, because that wasn't meant for them.
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