2022 PITTSBURGH NATIONAL COLLEGE FAIR
Seton Hill University
Exercise Science Major Learns to
Make Artificial Limbs
Davionne Laney came to Seton Hill University because he
wanted to play football and get an exercise science degree.
He didn’t know for sure yet where he wanted his career to
take him.
“It was the perfect opportunity to pursue a career in
medicine without having a definitive goal in mind,” he said.
“I had the chance to change my mind several times while
staying with the same major. This allowed me to, thankfully,
find the field of orthotics and prosthetics.”
Orthotics are medical devices like braces and splints.
Prosthetics are artificial body parts. Both are used to help
patients who have suffered injuries or were born without
a part of the body. These devices are designed to fit each
individual patient.
Davionne became fascinated by this field, he says,
because it “allows me to be a difference-maker in the
world, one person at a time. My experience at Seton
4
Hill definitely played a factor in my decision to
pursue orthotics and prosthetics. Seton Hill
really emphasized building relationships and
showcasing what it meant to have a good
character while moving about in the world. Treating
everyone with respect and dignity were at the forefront of
what being a student on and off-campus should look like.”
Davionne also learned a lot from his college football
experience, and the clubs he chose to get involved with.
“The football program also taught me about accountability
for myself and responsibility for others that proved to be
invaluable as I have left campus…I was also involved in
the Multicultural and International Student Organization
(MISO), the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC),
Griffin Guides, Black Student Union and Exercise Science
Club during my time at Seton Hill.”
After graduating from Seton Hill’s Exercise Science
Program, Davionne continued his education at the UT
Southwestern Medical Center School of Health Professions
in Dallas, Texas. As he earns his master’s degree, he’s
also “performing clinical evaluations of patients, casting
patients for a negative model, creating a positive model
from the cast, correcting the positive model, and fabricating
whatever device needs to be made for the individual
patient’s needs.”