A recent graduate from Queen’s University overcame incredible adversity to achieve academic success, earning her PhD in Osteoarchaeology after a life-changing motorcycling accident that nearly cost her a leg.
Dr. Jessica White, who graduated on Tuesday, December 10, focused her PhD research on the biomechanics of individuals with mobility impairments in medieval Ireland. Her work explores how people in the past adapted to physical challenges, a topic she became all too familiar with during her studies.
In May 2022, Jessica suffered a serious motocross accident that shattered her lower leg. This accident required multiple surgeries and left her facing the possibility of amputation. Determined to complete her PhD, Jessica pressed on with her studies, despite the physical and emotional toll the injury had on her wellbeing.
“The PhD gave me a reason to get up,” Jessica said. “There were tough days—rewriting parts of my thesis due to memory loss from medication, or researching injuries I was living with myself—but it also gave me a deeper understanding of what the people I studied might have faced.”
Supervised by Professor Eileen Murphy, Jessica started her PhD in 2019, focusing on reconstructing the gait of individuals with physical impairments using archaeological evidence. Even as she dealt with her own physical challenges, Jessica found parallels between her personal journey and her academic work, describing the experience as "experimental archaeology I wouldn’t recommend.”
Queen’s University staff provided invaluable support during her recovery, Jessica said, praising her supervisor and library team for their understanding and flexibility.
Now back on her motorbike and looking to the future, Jessica plans to continue blending her newfound perspective with her academic expertise, aiming to further explore how individuals in the past adapted to adversity.
“The hardest part wasn’t just the surgeries or being unable to walk,” she reflected. “It was finding the strength to keep going when everything felt impossible. I hope my journey shows others that even in the darkest times, there’s a way forward.”
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English (United States) ·