In this series of "Where are they Know?" stories on Bushnell Student-Athlete alumni, we are focusing on the great work being done by Beacons in the world of medicine. From Neuroscience and Maxillofacial Surgery to Orthopedics and Chiropractic Medicine, former Beacons are making a difference for Christ.
 
 
As a member of the Bushnell women's cross country and track & field teams from 2015-2019, Emily Moon '19 made her mark on the course, in the classroom, and in the community, and has gone on to begin an incredible career in physical therapy.
 
Moon graduated from Bushnell (then Northwest Christian University) in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science, after an athletic career that included a pair of Cascade Conference Championships and the 2015 NAIA National Championship in cross country. She earned numerous academic awards during her career and was a multiple qualifier for the CCC track & field championships as well.
 
Upon graduation, Moon set her sights on becoming a physical therapist, a path that led her to USC, where in 2022 she became a Doctor of Physical Therapy. She finished her residency the following year at Harbor Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in San Pedro, California, where she still works as the Senior Physical Therapist.
 
Shortly after completing her residency, she was also hired on as an adjunct faculty at USC within the DPT program and primarily teaches first-year students in the Basic of Patient Management for Orthopedic Conditions course.
 
As if that weren't occupying enough of her time, Moon also serves as the site coordinator for clinical education for Harbor Physical Therapy and as a clinical instructor for students that are now doing their clinical rotations through the USC program. She has also recently taken the lead on creating an Alumni Association for the Asian Pacific-Islander Affinity Group.
 
We recently sat down with Dr. Moon to talk about her path through Bushnell towards becoming a leader in the field of physical therapy today:
 
Walk us through your journey a little. What led you to a career in medicine?
 
From when I was little I knew I always wanted to go into the healthcare field. My great-great grandfather was head of one of the first hospitals in Des Moines, Iowa and so from when I was little, my initial career choice was to be a heart surgeon because I wanted to save lives and that just seemed like the most obvious choice of careers to accomplish that task.
 
In high school, my plans slowly started to change when I realized how much schooling it would require to be a heart surgeon and so I played around with the thoughts of being a pediatrician. Then, running track in high school, I ended up getting injured as I was trying to keep up with the top runners in the state. My pediatrician had referred me to a physical therapist in the area. This is where my interest in physical therapy and how the body operates came into my life. Throughout my track and field and cross country career in high school, I ended up going to the same physical therapist and the atmosphere and passion I could feel from my PT continued to lead me into this field. 
 
How did your time at Northwest Christian University further influence your plans?
 
Through running cross country and track under Dr. Heike McNeil, who also was my professor and head of the Exercise Science department, my love for the human body and how to get it to move more effectively continued to grow stronger and stronger.
 
My core exercise science courses were very necessary for getting me here, but the upper division exercise science courses were really where I was able to dive into my passion for physical therapy even more. My last semester of school I was able to write a paper and prepare a presentation on physical therapy intervention for people with cerebral palsy, which has been one of my favorite populations to work with from when I was a PT aide and throughout my PT school journey. Heike was the one that really encouraged me to go after a challenging topic, dive into Neurologic and physical therapy journal articles, and push myself further than what I needed just for the class.
 
You aren't the first and certainly won't be the last to mention Dr. Heike McNeil as a big influence during your time at NCU. What does she mean to you?
 
Heike was one of my biggest supporters from the beginning, even before I even got to NCU. I knew she would be my professor and coach but she has grown to be much more than that to me. She has been a mentor, a cheerleader, and one of my biggest encouragers throughout this journey over the last ten years.
 
Was there anyone else at Bushnell that had an influence on you?
 
All of my coaches and athletic trainers helped me to always see my potential in this career and were always encouraging me towards that next step.
 
Angela Doty, who worked in career service as the time, is another person that really comes to mind when I think about applying to PT school. I went to see her a ridiculous amount of times to go over my resume, to make sure it was perfect for my application to PT school.
 
Aside from the academics side, there are some other very special people that looked over my essays, encouraged me on the late nights of working on my essays, and celebrating the success with me. Jen and Joshua Little are two of the top people. I can't remember how many times I went to them crying because I was so overwhelmed with just life at many points those last two years at NCU. They have continued to be my favorite people to celebrate my life chapters with. Jen was actually one of the first people I saw after I found out I got into USC and we both freaked out together in the cafeteria together!
 
Corynn Gilbert was always encouraging me to chase my dreams with grad school, while she was also in the middle of her grad program and I look up to her so much and how she seemed like she could handle it all. And
 
How did you end up choosing USC?
 
At the end of the summer after my junior year, I was starting to pull my PT school application together and my boss was asking me about what schools I was applying to. I started listing off the 8-9 schools that I was planning on applying to and he had noticed that I did not mention USC.
 
Now, I grew up as a USC fan, and my boss had gone to PT school at USC when it was a still a Master's program. I very much considered USC a long shot option because it is the top Physical Therapy school in the country, I was coming from a small school, and didn't feel that I had the grades to put myself into the position to apply to USC. He countered my uncertainty with "What's the worse they can say, no?" and I replied, "I mean yeah, I will probably get a few of those anyways." 

Throughout December and January, going into my last semester of undergrad, I was finding out that I had gotten interviews to George Fox University, Pacific University, waitlisted for CSU Long Beach and was preparing for these interviews when I found out I was admitted into USC's DPT program. I knew immediately that I wanted to go to USC, but decided that I should visit. I was coming from a small college community and was curious if the DPT program would make me feel that sense of community like I felt at NCU. When I was there I immediately felt the same feeling I had when I first visited NCU as a recruit and my decision was made then.
 
 
Do you know of a good candidate that should be featured in the Beacons in Medicine series? If so, please contact email Nick Askew, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications, at naskew@bushnell.edu.