Category: Humans of Health Sciences
Travis Pollen, Humans of Health Sciences
April 08, 2020 Written by Nicolette Jimenez and Ashley Barnas | Photos by Ashley Barnas
Biomechanics and Movement Science
Graduate Student Alumnus
"As I was growing up, I played basketball and little league baseball. When I was really little, missing a leg wasn't a huge disadvantage. The other kids weren’t that much better. By the time I got to be 10,11,12 years old, I started to notice I couldn’t keep up with them. My mom and I found out about a program in Philadelphia called the Pennsylvania Center For Adapted Sports. As a 13-year-old kid, I was not interested but my mom pushed me to do it. I did adaptive cycling and rowing. I really fell in love with hand cycling. If my mom hadn't pushed me to do it, I never would have tried it. If I hadn’t tried, then my whole life probably would have turned out differently.
I tried out for the high school swim team on a whim because I had never competitively swam before. With a lot of hard work, I got a lot better to the point where I realized I wanted to set my sights on the 2012 Paralympic Games. The next seven years from high school to choosing a college, I wanted to make sure that I could find a place where I could swim and also get my bachelor’s degree.
I always loved exercise and sports, but I also enjoyed science. In high school, I took physics and loved it and thought that was what I was gonna do forever. I would go to the library and read books on sports nutrition, stretching and strength training, but it wasn't until after undergrad at Swarthmore College when I was getting my personal trainer certification, that I found out about the University of Delaware's biomechanics program and realized biomechanics was even an option for me, let alone the option that really fused my two loves: physics and exercise. I did my master's degree in biomechanics and movement science and worked in a gait lab doing research on amputee walking biomechanics. I’m currently in the process of finishing up my Ph.D. in rehabilitation sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
I started rock climbing about four years ago. In college, I had friends on the swim team who rock climbed and they always asked me to come - they were on my swim team - but I was so afraid of getting injured because it’s a dangerous sport if you're not careful, and I didn't want to jeopardize my swimming by doing this. When my swimming career ended, I went rock climbing with my brother a couple of times, but it didn't really take root for me until one holiday season when we got a Groupon to join a rock gym. We joined and I’ve been a member of a rock gym ever since, including The Tufas Boulder Lounge, which just opened up last summer a block and a half from my house.
As my friends predicted, I guess I sort of have a knack for it. Of course, there are certain routes that are harder to do than others missing my left leg, but I have advantages in other ways because my upper body is so strong from swimming. In bouldering, we call the routes “problems,” so it's like problem-solving on a wall. The mind-body aspect of it is really a big draw. I do climb without the prosthetic - it just felt like it got in the way - partially because the prosthetic isn't the right type for rock climbing. I feel so much more in control without it, light and agile.
Seeing other people who have similar differences as you doing amazing things that you thought impossible, makes you want to try those things, too. I'm sure other people look at me and see me doing certain things that they thought impossible - but even I'm limited by some of my own beliefs. My biggest piece of advice is to just try things, like rock climbing. I've come to realize anything is possible."
