Newly Named Marshall Scholar Ahalya Lettenberger Seeks To Improve The Lives Of Others With Disabilities

Eight years before Ahalya Lettenberger competed in her first Paralympic Games, she stepped onto the pool deck for a Para swim meet for the very first time.

She looked around and saw other athletes with disabilities, athletes who were members of Team USA, had traveled the world competing and had the medals to show for it. The positivity was thick all around her.

“I think being part of a community like that changed my outlook on my disability,” said Lettenberger, 22, from Glen Ellyn, Illinois. “It really helped me embrace my differences and my disability.”

Now, Lettenberger is not only training for her second Paralympic Games but also preparing for a graduate course of study that will help her change the lives of others with disabilities. Next fall, Lettenberger will travel to the United Kingdom as a Marshall Scholar pursuing a Master of Science degree in sport biomechanics as well as a Master of Science degree in disability, design and innovation. It’s a continuation of the work she did as an undergraduate bioengineering major at Rice University, designing technology and devices to help people with disabilities.

“The reason I wanted to go into the medical field was because I wanted to help people find the confidence and acceptance that I have through sports,” she said.

Lettenberger was born with arthrogryposis amyoplasia, which causes joint restrictions and muscle weakness. She can walk short distances but uses a wheelchair for getting around most of the time. The middle child between two boys, she grew up loving sports and competition, and started swimming when she was 10.

She made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, winning a silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley SM7. The pool isn’t the only place she’s thrived in recent years. Lettenberger graduated summa cum laude last spring, a student-athlete who amassed myriad academic honors while competing as a member of the Owls swim team.

When she started school, she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do in the medical field, but after her first bioengineering class her sophomore year she’d found her direction.

“I love designing things and making devices to help other people, so I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.

For her senior project, Lettenberger designed a device for patients who are susceptible to falls to wear in their homes. It captures information about the patient and their daily life, she said, to figure out when and where they’re most susceptible to falling — for example where they were in the home and what activity they were doing prior to the fall — to help doctors determine how to prevent future accidents.

She also worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a lab helping to design an upper arm robotic exoskeleton used in rehabilitation settings to help patients with spinal trauma and traumatic brain injury regain movement in their wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Now she’s part of an elite group of recent graduates — no more than 40 are selected each year from across the country — to be named Marshall Scholars and have the opportunity to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

Lettenberger will spend her first year at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, where she’ll study sport biomechanics and has already spoken to the swim coach about joining the team, and the second year she’ll go to University College London to pursue her second degree.

“I really wanted to go to the U.K. because they’ve come a long way in disability rights and they’re a leader in the field of assisted technology that can help people with disabilities,” she said. “I wanted to work with leaders in the field and experience disability rights and Para sports there because they’re doing so much for inclusion with Para sports and awareness of Para sports.”

Lettenberger was in the U.K. last summer to compete in the world championships in Manchester, where she matched the silver she won in the 400-meter freestyle back in 2019 and finished fourth in the 200 IM.

She is reaping the benefits of her hard work in other ways as well. This fall, she was inducted into the Illinois Swimming Hall of Fame, and she recently turned pro as a member of Team Speedo. She’ll compete at Citi Para Swimming World Series meets in Italy and Indianapolis this spring before the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in June, where she’ll look to solidify her spot for Paris.

“I think I’ve grown a lot more confident in myself and who I am as a swimmer and my role on the team,” she said of how she’s changed since the Paralympics in Tokyo. “I think something I’m really looking forward to is being a veteran on the team. Last time, I just wanted to take in the experience of my first Games, and that was so much fun. This time I want to help the younger athletes and maybe first timers on the team to take in that experience, too, and have an incredible time because Tokyo was one of the best experiences of my life by far. I want to help other people have a great experience in Paris.”

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.