CHS Announces Fall 25 Commencement Honor Roles: David Parish, College Banner Bearer

David Parish, a candidate for the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree, has an untraditional UTEP story. Following 22 years in the military and six years leading a company, he came back to school driven by a singular passion for discovering how to help people move and live with less pain, particularly veterans and underserved populations.

Returning to basic courses like chemistry after nearly three decades forced Parish to “re-learn how to learn.” Despite a bumpy start, he sought to get the most out of his education and found places to explore where “ideas meet practice.” His most meaningful experiences revolved around his participation in the Motor Control and Virtual Reality Lab, led by Dr. Jason Boyle, and the PRIME PT Lab, directed by Dr. Kosaku Aoyagi. There, he supported protocol design, coordinated participant sessions, and implemented data collection and analysis across projects linking motor control and pain science. He also served as the student organizer for the Pain Journal Club, facilitating discussions among Kinesiology, Rehabilitation Sciences and PT students. He’s now a co-author on a manuscript analyzing racial and ethnic disparities in sleep problems among people living with chronic pain.

Parish says that his hardest challenge thus far has been finding balance. While managing his full-time course load and developing as a scholar, he also served as the president for a local swim team and coach for a youth soccer team – all while parenting two young children. He says that serving local families while balancing full-time study kept him grounded in why he wants to study human performance - helping kids and communities thrive.

After graduation, Parish will enter UTEP’s Master of Science in Kinesiology program and prepare for a future application to the UTEP Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program. He ultimately aims to enter academia with a research focus on autonomic regulation, PTSD, and chronic pain, with applications for veterans’ health.

###