If Malcolm Gladwell’s saying that achieving greatness in a skill takes 10,000 hours holds true, then by Luca Pedone’s May graduation, the SPH kinesiology major was already well on his way to becoming an athletic trainer. He’d already contributed more than 1,300 hours to UMD Athletics and sports medicine. Over eight semesters, Pedone interned across a spectrum of teams, including football, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, track and field and women’s basketball.
Pedone was inspired to enter public health because of his own experiences being a basketball player during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing him to mostly play alone.
“The fire wasn’t quite there,” Pedone said of his time playing one-on-no one hoops. “I valued the community and experience of it a lot more than saying ‘I have to grind’ and climb the ranks.”
After being a pre-med student early on, Pedone realized that he was looking for a different kind of impact and shifted focus to physical activity training, where he could help people “pre-hab” – or put in extra effort to avoid getting hurt later.
“This is a field where it’s about caring for others and doing what you’re passionate about,” Pedone said.
Pedone, who will continue athletic training education at Pennsylvania State University, practices making a positive difference in every way he can. He both reminds the athletes he works with of the importance of hydration and highlights the importance of public health.
“You have some people who are going pro and have that mindset, you also have athletes who know they will be an accountant in two years,” Pedone said. “We’re here for you at every step and, most importantly, we’re here for prevention.”
Pedone found the class Principles & Techniques of Manual Muscle Testing (KNES405), taught by Dr. Joanne Klossner, a senior lecturer in kinesiology, as a highlight. It helped him understand anatomy, which he described as the bread and butter of kinesiology. He loved the hands-on nature of the class because, he said, “slides and the diagrams only go so far.”
“I am confident that Luca will be successful in graduate school and in his career as an aspiring athletic trainer,” Klossner said.
“Luca Pedone has been a four-year intern with UMD Athletics and they value him tremendously,” said Dr. Polly Schurer, program director for the Department of Kinesiology. “He has served as an undergraduate teaching assistant in the department and is a great mentor to students. He's also played an ambassador role and attends open houses and served on several panels.”
Outside of public health, Pedone loves movies. His Letterboxd top four constantly changes, but it’s currently “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” “Good Will Hunting,” “The Dark Knight” and “Silence of the Lambs.”
“I’ve told enough people that, and they’ve kind of given me a weird look,” Pedone said.
His overarching goal, he said, is to do his best to be the light in someone’s day, and he’s finding that purpose through helping people get and stay healthy, so they can shine during game time and beyond.
“That work is so important to humanity and to the planet,” Pedone said. “It’s so much bigger than us.”
— By Rachel Kleber