Angela’s passion for dance started when she was just three years old. Angela fell in love with the art of performing and sharing her talent with others following her through the rest of her life.
“At first it was fun, but it quickly became something that got me through the hard days and I wanted to pursue it more seriously,” said Gadd
While in business class, Angela’s senior year, her teacher told her she could not be a professional dancer, because of the unsteady income and the risk of injury, but she didn’t let this hold her back.
Soon after graduation Angela auditioned for WVU’s dance program and made it as a minor, but she was hoping to major in dance. Now she was left to find a major. She thought about how physical therapy helped her become a better dancer and she knew what she was meant to do.
Angela decided to major in exercise physiology to prepare to earn a doctorate in physical therapy while minoring in dance to improve her technique to re-audition for a spot as a major.
At the end of Angela’s freshman year, she had found that she fell in love with exercise physiology, but the director of the dance program asked her to take a spot as a major. She was left with a very hard decision to make.
She finally decided, and with the help of her professors, she began to major in both dance and exercise physiology simultaneously. Angela was finally living out her dream until she was in an accident breaking her neck and jaw, making her believe she would never dance again.
After being forced to take a year off from dance due to her treatment for a major concussion along with the suffering of her neck and jaw injuries.
“By God’s grace, I had supportive doctors and professors who helped me finish both degrees with only an extra year of school despite many setbacks,” said Gadd
She slowly returned back to dance starting with technique and before she knew it she was back to performing. In December of 2021, Angela graduated with both a degree in bachelors of art and dance and a bachelor of science in exercise physiology.
After graduation, Angela worked for an Italian dance company and in a physical therapy office before starting grad school that June.
After three long years of physical therapy school, months of rotations, and a few weeks studying abroad in Israel. Angela will wrap up her rotations with a dance company and graduate this May as a Doctor in physical therapy.
“Traveling across the world to the New York of the middle east to train with elite athletes and job shadow their physicians was such a unique experience I will forever be grateful for,” said Gadd.