Peighton Brown

Introduction

Hey everyone! My name is Peighton Brown, and I am a senior at Georgia Southern University majoring in exercise science. I grew up just 30 minutes down the road from Statesboro in a little town called Claxton, GA. I thought about moving away somewhere farther from home, but I am now glad that I made the decision to call Georgia Southern my home for my four years of undergrad. Georgia Southern has given me so many opportunities to grow and learn in my education and leadership skills through positions in hands- on organizations such as Georgia Southern cheerleading, Kappa Delta sorority, Exercise Science Club, Greek Ambassadors, and Cru. While these organizations are extracurriculars, I have learned just as much if not more inside the classroom at Georgia Southern as well through my core and major classes.

With my degree in exercise science, I hope to continue my education in grad school to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Many life and classroom experiences have led me to this passion for how the body moves, and how we can optimize human performance through rehabilitation. For example, my father became paralyzed from his armpits down when I was only 6 weeks old, so I grew up around the obstacles of long term injury. However, because this accident happened at such a young age, I never knew my dad to be "different" than anyone else. I've seen him go through physical therapy my whole life, and I found it pretty amazing what he was taught he could still do despite his injury. I would like to be able to do the same for other people - help them get better or adapt to their injury whether that be an ankle sprain or paralysis. My background in cheerleading also allowed me to see and experience the world of injury and physical therapy through injuries of my own. My physical therapists always worked their hardest to get me back even better than I was when I came in, and I would love to do the same for other young athletes.

As of right now I have one semester left until I graduate this December. I am currently working at a physical therapy clinic as a PT aid, and it has given me that hands-on experience I needed to confirm this really is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Seeing patients come in discouraged at the beginning of their PT journey, and knowing I get to be a part of building their confidence and healing their body is such a rewarding feeling, and I hope I will be lucky enough to say I get to have that feeling for the rest of my career.