Academic Impact
Purpose in Motion
When Bella Helm was in third grade, she watched her mother navigate the exhausting realities of multiple sclerosis. The world around them couldn’t see the disease, but Helm watched every moment of her mother pushing through long workdays and full-time parenting.
“Just seeing her adapt to daily life with this new disease that most people couldn’t see on the outside…I saw it at home when she was fatigued from a long day of work and being a full-time mom, and that just really inspired me to continue that forward in the future and in my career,” Helm said. “I wanted to help people just like her.”
Helm credits Auburn’s College of Education with giving her the support system she needed to make that goal a reality.
“As soon as I met with the advisers in the School of Kinesiology, I felt right at home and knew that exercise science is going to be the perfect fit for me,” Helm said. “The professors, advisors and even mentors I’ve had along the way in the School of Kinesiology and College of Education have been a defining part of my time here at Auburn. They’ve been so supportive and cared about not just me as a student in their class, but me as a person outside of that, and that’s been the most impactful to me.”
Encouraging her peers
Among those mentors is Auburn College of Education Associate Clinical Professor Dr. Christopher Wilburn, assistant director of the School of Kinesiology’s Sport Biomechanics Laboratory. Wilburn said Helm quickly distinguished herself as a standout student in his class.
“Bella has stood out to me as a student because she has had the opportunity to combine these unique skills of intellectual curiosity, intuition and intentionality in her learning approaches,” he said. “And what’s really cool about that is that she doesn’t just strive to exceed expectations, she actually encourages her peers too.”
Helm recalled a moment in Wilburn’s class when students struggled with a concept.
“We were going over a topic, and it was really obvious that a lot of us didn’t get it right away,” she said. “And my favorite thing that he did in class was he could just tell if we weren’t getting it, and he would stop right there and re-explain it in a different way, give us a really cool, real-world analogy to it that would help us understand it right there.”
She said the approach helped her learn deeply rather than rush through material. Helm’s passion for physical therapy solidified during a shadowing experience at East Alabama Medical Center.
“This is where I learned for the first time how much I loved inpatient,” she said. “I’d only ever shadowed outpatient before. So, because of this experience brought to me by the College of Education, I was able to really take this opportunity to work with these patients who were in the hospital going through a lot of big medical events.”
She said the physical therapists she observed inspired her to support future patients, and future students, with the same care.
“As a future physical therapist, I would make sure to provide the same support and answer all the questions just as the physical therapist that I shadowed did to me,” she said. “It was really a pivotal time for me and was really inspiring to me, and I would want to do the same for any future student that I would have.”
Looking ahead
Wilburn said Auburn students are positioned to make a meaningful impact in the field “because their interactions with world-renowned professors and educators allow them to not only make their own footprint on the world, but it will open doors for the future,” he said.
For Helm, those doors are already opening. Helm was recently accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, a return to her hometown, where she’ll now be even closer to her mom.
“The College of Education has opened doors for me, and as a future physical therapist, I would love to give back by improving the lives of others,” Helm said.
