Still Going Strong

By Patrick Bohn, October 4, 2024
Seven decades into his career, Michael Gormley ’58 relishes every day.
Michael Gormley
(Photo by Olivia Peck)
(Photo by Olivia Peck)

For most people, the concept of having a “lifelong” profession is a figure of speech, or at least an exaggeration. But Michael Gormley ’58 is not most people. The day after graduating from Ithaca College with a degree in physical therapy, he began a career that allowed him to teach in classrooms and work with professional sports teams. Sixty-five years later, Gormley is still going, continuing a career that began at Ithaca College, coincidentally because of an injury.

“I was hoping to go to college on an athletic scholarship to either Cornell or Holy Cross, but I had a knee injury that made that difficult,” he said. “I was on crutches most of my senior year of high school. But going to physical therapy for my injury opened my eyes to the profession and the importance of helping people who are dealing with physical challenges.”

During that time, Gormley also got to know several coaches in his hometown who were IC graduates and who spoke highly of their time on South Hill. “I knew by then that I wanted to go to a smaller school, and IC was close enough to [my hometown of] Niagara Falls that I felt comfortable,” he said. “It turned out to be a great experience for me.”

At the time, physical therapy majors spent three years on campus before doing a clinical rotation in New York City. Gormley started out at Lincoln Hospital, rotating to a different hospital each month. “My background at IC and the way they prepared us, it made the transition a lot easier,” he said. “I had a lot of great professors.”

“Going to physical therapy for my injury opened my eyes to the profession and the importance of helping people who are dealing with physical challenges.”

Michael Gormley ’58

After graduating, Gormley began a sort of professional rotation, working at various colleges including the University of Ottawa, Canisius College, and the University of Buffalo. During his time in Buffalo, where he did clinical work, he got the opportunity to work with the city’s professional sports teams, the Bills and Braves.

Eventually he settled down, becoming the director of physical therapy at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York, while also entering private practice in 1978, which he continued until the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his decades in the profession, he’s seen its evolution, particularly regarding technology. “Arthroscopes, artificial joints, and prosthetics were not what they are now. It’s been amazing to see,” he said. “When I hired graduates over the years, they would bring their knowledge of those changes to the practice, and it was always helpful.”

One thing that has not changed is the same thing that drew Gormley to the profession all those decades ago: the personal connections. And that’s why, after taking a brief break during the pandemic, he began the next phase of his career. “I’m not a guy with a lot of hobbies, and I’d watched enough television,” he said. “So I started helping local hospitals to conduct electromyography tests. One day, I stopped by to see a former student of mine who was now at North Tonawanda’s Marabella Physical Therapy, and we got to talking about how I still wanted to be involved in the profession. He said to me: ‘Why don’t you come help me out in the afternoon a few days a week?’” Gormley recalled. “So that’s what I started doing.”

While he’s relished the chance to continue to learn from younger professionals, the best part of continuing to go into work has been helping people. And he sees no reason to stop now.

“I feel good, and I’m going to play it by ear,” he said. I’m still kicking, not because I have to, but I want to.”