Paul J. Sipes Award: Luan Aguiar ('24)

Luan Aguiar will never forget the first time he walked into a cadaver lab at Northern Kentucky University.

Aguiar, who is from Brazil, originally aspired to become an equine vet. He later changed his mind during high school and wanted to work with humans.

“The first professions that I had in mind were physician assistant or nurse practitioner,” he says. “During high school, I fell in love with human physiology and biomechanics.”

So, one week before starting classes as a freshman at NKU, Aguiar switched his major from biology to exercise science.

His desire to help people led him to an internship with Dr. Jake Jones, who mainly helps student-athletes get back to their sports, that he will always remember. 

“My internship was extremely memorable,” he says. “I had a chance to observe a great PT who taught me a lot, and I was able to observe patients in a variety of settings.” 

On top of a great internship with real-world experience, Aguiar also recalls having great relationships with his mentors, one in particular: Dr. Jennifer Keiser. 

“Dr. Jenn was extremely helpful not just as a professor, but also very supportive as a mentor when I had personal struggles that could have impacted my academic career,” he says.

As Aguiar prepares to walk across the stage, he says getting that degree means that he’s capable of overcoming challenges and achieving the goals he set for himself. 

One of those goals is to attend physical therapy school. And in June, he’ll start his DPT program at Mount St Joseph University with hopes of becoming a full-time physical therapist. 

His one last piece of advice for first-year students? Work hard from the minute you arrive. 

“Know why you’re in school and make sure it is at the very least somewhat connected to your values and focus on prioritizing self-improvement,” he says. “Working hard in the beginning will definitely make dealing with harder classes much easier.”