Scholar Stories: Russell Channels Passion for Movement Into Career in Health
4/23/2025 2:30:00 PM | Rowing
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Shira Black
Apart from illustrious Wolverine Tom Brady, Carla Russell did not know much about Ann Arbor or the University of Michigan. Growing up across the Atlantic Ocean in Henley-On-Thames, England, she knew she wanted a "quintessentially American" university experience but was not quite sure what to expect.
Drawn to Michigan by promises of school pride, top-tier academics and stellar athletics -- specifically the nine-time conference champion rowing squad -- Russell looked forward to finding success on the water and in the classroom.
At Michigan, she has found more than a place to excel in her sport -- she made lifelong friendships and found a career path that intertwines her love of movement, learning and helping others.
After previously specializing in math, political science and history back home in the UK, Russell found herself surrounded by more options than she could have ever imagined.
"Coming to the U.S., my range of study was majorly opened," Russell said. "I had the opportunity to study pretty much anything I wanted, which I think is a major strength of US education -- I was able to try things and figure out in real time if I was suited for them and if I could see myself pursuing a career in them."
Diving into the LSA curriculum headfirst, Russell began by studying Arabic, completing her entire language requirement before transitioning to more science-based courses, where she found herself drawn to physiology and movement.
Her passion for the science behind exercise and sport led Russell to movement science, and ultimately to applied exercise science, where she discovered a perfect balance: science-based subjects alongside business-focused coursework through the School of Kinesiology's sport management classes.
"I was able to develop all these skills and understand all of this biology, but I also now have another side of my toolkit -- I can effectively communicate with people," Russell said. "Wanting to work in some form of healthcare with people, the ability to listen and fully digest is received really well. It is a skill that I wouldn't have refined if I hadn't had the access to those sport management, more business-centric classes."
One experience that solidified Russell's desire to make a difference in the health and lives of underserved populations was an elective taught by AES professor Kerry Winkelseth. In this special topics course, students had the opportunity to work with the Eastern Michigan University Bright Futures program. During the semester, they taught movement classes at an elementary school in Ypsilanti, helping children who had missed their formative years of physical education because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We were able to see such growth in such young kids," Russell said. "Knowing that that's going to have a lifetime's worth of impact of them having their body literacy to understand how to move, especially in a community that usually doesn't have access to these sorts of afterschool programs, nor the ability to kind of join in with sports clubs -- that was a tremendous opportunity that I've really valued."
The chance to learn from world-class professors and leaders in their respective fields was another that Russell could not pass up. Laura Richardson, a professor and clinical exercise physiologist, taught AES 413: Obesity, Weight Management, and Exercise. In this course, Russell accumulated knowledge on various chronic conditions and comorbidities, recognizing that the combination of her knowledge, athletic experience and interpersonal skills were perfect for a career focused on chronic disease care.
"With the opportunity that I have to go to this university, I want to be able to use that privilege to help people in the future," Russell said. "[Richardson] did a tremendous job of inspiring me and teaching through sharing experiences that she's had helping individuals with these chronic diseases and being able to lessen their symptoms or improve their quality of life."
Majoring in AES brings a world of benefits to a student-athlete who spends each day pushing their body to the limit. While training, Russell often thought through some of the lessons from her classes -- concepts like the cellular level of exercise or the body's lactic acid production -- realizing that her academic and athletic pursuits were strengthening each other.
"I'm thinking, 'I feel this in my legs right now. Why do I feel this? What's going to happen as a result of feeling this,'" she said. "And it meant that I was able to really optimize my training because I fundamentally understood why things were happening and the benefits that I was going to get from them."
The long rowing season (August to June) and intense practices packed with "steady state exercises" -- training at a moderate pace for hours on end -- taught Russell the importance of recovery and staying present throughout the process. This mindset became especially crucial this season during her senior year when every moment felt precious. Russell focused on showing up to each practice with passion and intention, ready to give her best for the team.
She hopes for a repeat of last year's Big Ten Championships, a special achievement for the team when all seven Michigan boats placed first or second in their events, earning 189 out of a possible 192 points for the program's ninth conference title. A particularly meaningful moment for Russell and the team came from seeing the two novice boats, made up of first-year and less experienced rowers, take home first place.
"There's something so special about getting to see them compete at such a high collegiate level," Russell said. "They've put in such work over a nine-month period of time in a sport that they probably didn't even know existed beforehand ... and I just really loved getting to see all of their hard work come to fruition."
For Russell, what matters most is knowing she gave her all for the team -- rowing her fastest, staying focused, being organized, taking care of her studies and sleep. She described the experience as rare: a shared purpose that goes far beyond individual accolades.
"The purpose is not to be self-serving," Russell said. "The purpose is to go fast for one another -- you realize that doing something for some entity that's bigger than you is a fulfilling experience in itself."
Whether her teammates are from Michigan, England, South Africa, Canada, the Netherlands, Scotland or Australia, they all share one goal: to grow and push each other to become better.
"Something that's really important to me is knowing that when I leave, this team is in a great spot to continue to be successful," Russell said. "Whether that's successfully creating women that go out into the world and make a positive impact, or that's leaving a team that will continue to raise the standard of Michigan rowing and continue to work hard in the legacy of the women who came before us."
Players Mentioned
