Where are they now? Hampton's Riley Isaac

Riley Isaac’s educational journey can be broken up into threes –

the number of years he participated in A.W. Beattie’s Sports Medicine program, the number of years it took him to complete his undergrad for a bachelor's degree at Slippery Rock University and the number of years he has left in graduate school before he becomes a Physical Therapist.

With the final third of his education ahead of him, Riley feels ready for the home stretch.

“Even as I look forward to PT school, I know that some of what we do I already experienced in my third year at Beattie,” Riley said. “Those experiences I had in high school have been super beneficial to not only to me, but also to other people because of the opportunities I’ve had to help classmates who didn’t have the same education that I had. Having so much background knowledge makes it easier to learn new information and to go more in-depth. Any time something is introduced, I usually have a head start on understanding what we’re doing.”

Riley, a 2021 Hampton graduate, called Slippery Rock the best place for him to be prepared for graduate school.

He decided that he would pursue Physical Therapy school after reconnecting with a physical therapist he saw while middle school. Riley visited his old physical therapist who now works for a minor league hockey team, which sparked a conversation about what he does on a daily basis with the team.

“I love working with people, and I love helping people,” Riley said. “I think the body is such an interesting thing, especially when you can see someone’s journey from something like a knee surgery and their progression to be even better than what they used to be. I want to work with a sports team ideally, which is how my old PT has influenced me a lot. Talking to him made me realized that’s the direction I want to go in.”

Riley has gone above and beyond in his studies, including becoming a member of multiple clubs specific to the exercise science and physical therapy fields.

“Doing those types of things can be really helpful in making a lot of connections,” Riley said. “Our teachers will tell you that grades aren’t everything. Getting involved and being a good person is huge in this field.”

He plans to continue networking while embracing the challenges of graduate school.

“I know it’s going to be much more in-depth with unique experiences,” Riley said. “There’s so much that’s going to test our knowledge like working in a cadaver lab. Even then, I learned so much from doing things like working on the Anatomage Table at Beattie that I feel prepared for things like that.”

He also knows that he can always rely on instructors at Beattie for their perspective and guidance years after graduating from high school.

“I know we can always come back and reach out to people like Mr. Thayer and Mr. Vtipil,” Riley said. “I’ve talked to Mr. Vtipil several times with questions for advice and I’ve even returned to Beattie to talk to students about what to expect when they get into a school like mine. It might seem far away, but everything you learn at Beattie will benefit you later.”