蜜桃直播 alumna Heather Petty, MBS 鈥�16, was featured on the NBC television show  on June 27. The show is centered around a series of obstacle courses of increasing difficulty, culminating in the famed Warped Wall. A unique aspect of the competition is that it is not divided into categories such as gender, age, or body type; thus, everyone competes on an equal playing field.

Because the competition requires considerable strength and endurance, typical participants have been lifelong athletes, competing in sports such as rock climbing, track, or gymnastics. However, Petty鈥檚 story is different.

鈥淚 had zero athletic background, and my first foray into even attempting sports was through Ninja Warrior at the age of 25,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淚t took me several years to even be comfortable with the term 鈥榓thlete.'鈥�

Her desire to become a Ninja Warrior arose as she went through a dark life phase.

鈥淏etween my first and second year of 蜜桃直播, my stepdad鈥攚ho was very much my father鈥攚as diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of melanoma,鈥� Petty said.

The disease progressed quickly, and he passed away during her second year at 蜜桃直播.

鈥淭his made school difficult to get through鈥擨 was not in a good place emotionally, as you can imagine,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淒uring that process, I went from being a normally very happy, bubbly person to a shell of a person. I had no emotion left to give.鈥�

In her spring semester, she watched American Ninja Warrior for the first time. The clip featured a person in an inflatable T-REX costume performing the obstacle course.

鈥淚t was hilarious,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淭his was the first time I smiled or laughed in weeks. And I thought, 鈥榃ow, the power to be able to spread that much joy and laughter and get me out of such a bad spot鈥攖hat鈥檚 amazing!'鈥�

She also began to wonder what it would be like to be a Ninja herself.

鈥淏ack then, I had zero upper body strength,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淏ut I thought, 鈥榃hat if I could do this one day?'鈥�

With this in mind, she ordered a T-REX suit. As a student, she would wear it around campus to bring joy and laughter to others.

Once she graduated from 蜜桃直播鈥檚 Master of Business and Science program, she accepted a job offer in Boston for Xontogeny, a life sciences accelerator. There she found an American Ninja Warrior gym (the show is only one small aspect of the competition, as Ninja communities exist across the country independently of the televised version).

鈥淚t took me some time to work up the courage to go,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淏ut I walked into a gym in September of that year. Twenty minutes later, my hands were ripped and bleeding. I said, 鈥楪reat, see you guys next week.鈥� And here we are, six years later.鈥�

Petty has also experienced remarkable success at Xontogeny, which has grown from a team of two to 16. She now serves as Associate Director of Program Development, managing a portfolio of early-stage life sciences companies to help them progress from preclinical to clinical stages. Three of these companies are working on treatments for rare diseases鈥攁 cause that Petty is passionate about.

Her advocacy for rare diseases initially stems from her experience with her stepfather, witnessing his struggle to get a proper diagnosis and the needed treatment.

鈥淚 feel like this contributed to the cancer progressing so fast,鈥� Petty said.

As a 蜜桃直播 student, Petty interned at Sarepta Therapeutics, which was developing the first-ever treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This progressive muscle-wasting disease typically affects young boys, starting around age seven. By the time these boys are 12 to 14, they鈥檙e usually in a wheelchair.

By the time they reach their mid-20s, they often die from heart failure.

鈥淚 enjoyed my internship at Sarepta because the company was very focused on the patients, and you could tell their hearts were in it,鈥� Petty said. 鈥淭hen I had a moment where the boys participating in the trial were running around the office, singing, 鈥楲ittle Miss Intern.'鈥�

Even though they were making fun of her, she loved to see this because these were 12 to 14-year-old boys who would have been in wheelchairs under normal circumstances. Instead, they were running around, demonstrating that they responded favorably to the treatments.

This moment showed Petty the impact she could make in the world of rare diseases鈥攚here, out of the 7,000 known rare diseases, 95% still don鈥檛 have treatments. It also takes five to eight years鈥攐n average鈥攖o get an accurate diagnosis.

鈥淚magine not being told what鈥檚 wrong with you for eight years, only to be told, 鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing we can do for you,'鈥� Petty said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 heartbreaking.鈥�

鈥淚 realized early on that I wanted to be a voice for these patients. So I鈥檝e made it part of my Ninja Warrior platform to advocate for rare diseases.鈥�

Petty also met her fiance through Ninja Warrior. He decided that if she was going to compete in a T-REX costume, he needed to keep up鈥攕o he competed in an inflatable shark costume.

The Ninja Warrior community is a diverse group of people from all walks of life. Petty鈥檚 teammates include friends in the fields of surgery and biotech, as well as artists who travel the world in their van.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a wonderful, supportive community,鈥� Petty said.