Alumna Finds Fulfillment Working with "Intrepid" VA Amputees

Vanlandingham working with a patient at the Center for the Intrepid.

One graduate of BW's School of Health, Physical Education and Sport Sciences is putting her education to work for "intrepid" amputees who are determined to resume a robust, active lifestyle.

Alumna Alicia White Vanlandingham '04 currently works as a physical therapist for active duty service members and veterans with amputations at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Texas.

Before their injuries, Vanlandingham's patients were in the best physical conditions of their lives. At the Center for the Intrepid, they push themselves beyond day-to-day functionality, beyond just walking with a prosthesis. By using a sports medicine approach, Vanlandingham tells us she is able to help patients participate in rigorous activities again like "hiking, biking, running, swimming, and jumping out of planes!"

"Because of the guidance and education I received during my time at BW, I am able to confidently help these service members as they recover from life altering injuries," Vanlandingham tells us.

At BW, Vanlandingham earned her undergraduate degree with a double major in Athletic Training and Pre Physical Therapy. Reflecting upon her BW education, she says, "The staff at BW led by example and my classmates became a supportive team. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of the foundation which they provided."

Vanlandingham went on from BW to earn a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Miami and has worked as an adjunct professor at Baylor University and Texas State.