Abigail Costello ran the Boston Marathon and took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in the same week, so it’s no surprise the Exercise Science graduate has big plans. The avid runner keeps a brisk pace. For the past two years, she’s worked in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Larner College of Medicine, studying the meniscus after ACL injury, and presented the findings at the Orthopaedic Research Society's annual meeting in February. She’s volunteered at the UVM Medical Center, designing exercise programs for children with congenital heart disease, and led fitness initiatives as a volunteer with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences Unified Fitness program.

“I chose exercise science because I knew I wanted to pursue medicine, and I loved the concept of taking control over your own health with exercise,” says Abigail. “Exercise can change many aspects of our lives and give us a lot of autonomy. I've loved this aspect of medicine because so much of modern medicine involves giving someone a pill to treat symptoms, but there are many things we can control ourselves to take power over our health.”

Abigail was nominated by UVM’s Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science for the American Kinesiology Association Undergraduate Award for Research, Leadership, and Service and received an honorable mention. After graduation, she’ll take a gap year, working, traveling, and training for another marathon while waiting to hear back from medical schools. She has the finish line in sight: “I'm ready to apply everything I've learned,” she says. “I want to be the person in the operating room, diagnosing and fixing injuries."