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Apr 25

Persistence, passion, and purpose – UMN News

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Master of Biological Sciences student Miguel Anselmo played football for over 10 years as a kid. His parents ran marathons and competed in grueling IRONMAN triathlons. He knows how the body works, how to take care of it, and how to train responsibly.But during the summer before his first year of college, Anselmos father, an experienced endurance athlete, died unexpectedly.I remember being really confused, Anselmo says. Because if you just saw him on the street, you would think this guy's very healthy, very active. But somehow he still passed away from a stroke.Anselmos time as an undergraduate was marked by both growth and grief. While he enjoyed doing research and digging into the scientific process, he wasnt sure where his education would take him.He decided to apply for the Master of Biological Sciences degree because it was more customizable than many other science masters programs. It would allow him to build a degree using courses from a variety of University departments and colleges.I really wanted to study the connection between endurance performance and cardiovascular health, because that would allow me to understand what happened to my dad, Anselmo says. I wouldn't even call it an interestthat's too tame of a word. It was something I had to do.Anselmo applied to work with Assistant Professor Manda Keller-Ross in the Cardiovascular Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory (CRRL) at the University of Minnesota Medical School. This was during the peak of COVID, and although she wanted to take him on, CRRL didnt have the space.But Anselmo went back a month later. I was like, can I just do something? Can I just sit in on meetings? And then she said, Okay, let's have you join our journal clubs, and so I just kept being persistent. Eventually she said, Okay, let's bring you into the lab.For Anselmo, working in the CRRL was like finding a missing puzzle piece. Understanding the basic science behind how the body regulates itself during exercise was kind of, I don't want to say relief, but it was more of, I found my thing. I found my passion, and I found the person who can help mentor me, to take that next step to carving out a niche for myself.After his dad died, Anselmos training regimen came to a standstill. He had competed in a few IRONMAN events in high school, but he wasnt really taking care of himself, physically or mentally, in college.He needed something to focus on, a goal to reach for. It had to be something that scared me, he says, so my mom and I decided to sign up for the IRONMAN that she and my dad were planning on doing before he passed awaythe IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant.I can't even find the word for it, but it was special.Anselmo is now an ultramarathon runner who also trains other endurance athletes. I find a lot of parallels between endurance sports and academics, he says. You don't necessarily want to spend two hours on a Saturday studying, but it's something that you need to do to accomplish the larger goal.Anselmo is already moving toward his next larger goal: He will continue his work with Keller-Ross in the Rehabilitation Science PhD program this fall.

This story was adapted from the College of Continuing and Professional Studies.

See original here:
Persistence, passion, and purpose - UMN News

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