Elizabeth Halloran Darling,
Arts '99, PT '01
Young Alumna of the Year AwardCollege of Health Sciences
Young Alumna of the Year Award
Elizabeth Halloran Darling, Arts '99, PT '01
Elizabeth Darling puts the athletic in athletic trainer.
A member of the U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics team that competed in the 1991 Pan Am Games in Cuba and the 1992 World Championships in Belgium, she works with Olympic athletes and other world-class competitors as a physical therapist and trainer. In her spare time, she runs half-marathons.
"I love that every day of my job is different," she says. "Every patient presents an individual problem, and I have to figure out how to help each person in the best way I can."
Elizabeth is head athletic trainer for the U.S. national team on which she once competed. Her work for gymnasts and other athletes has taken her to competitions all over the globe, including world championships in Hungary, Greece, Azerbaijan, Japan and South Africa; the Pan Am Games in Brazil; and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she was one of only 30 handpicked U.S. athletic trainers. She hopes to return to the Olympics in 2012.
Outside athletics, Elizabeth has provided medical coverage for Chicago's Joffrey Ballet and the Chicago production of the Broadway smash Wicked. She also developed screening programs to help breast cancer survivors return to active, productive lifestyles.
Elizabeth completed her doctorate in physical therapy in 2009 and is opening her own clinic in Erie, Pa. She plans to base her practice on the social justice principals she learned at Marquette.
"I work hard to give people the care they need regardless of their ability to pay," she says.
Fun facts about Elizabeth
Someone (past or present) she’d like to have dinner with: Billy Jean King
