Khuran Na wants to pursue a master's in Physical Therapy.
A devastating injury ended Khuran Na's football career but opened his eyes to a career he might never have thought about.
“All that time spent with my physical therapist and my athletic trainers made me really appreciate what they did helping me get back to health. I realized that’s something I want to do. This is something I really enjoy.”
First, he collapsed to the ground, grimacing. Play continued for a few seconds before the communal gasps came.
Khuran Na ’25 wasn’t a football player who went down for nothing. But during a preseason scrimmage in 2019, the high school running back tried to change direction to avoid a defender and tore his anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his right knee, an injury that sidelines thousands of athletes each season.
That wasn’t all. He also suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain.
There would be months of rehab, physical therapy, and countless doctor visits. Khuran’s junior year of high school hadn’t even started, and already his football career was over. But ever the optimist, Khuran says another journey – this one at Guilford – was just beginning.
“All that time spent with my physical therapist and my athletic trainers made me really appreciate what they did helping me get back to health,” Khuran says. “I realized that’s something I want to do. This is something I really enjoy.”
Khuran enrolled at Guilford in the fall of 2021 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Exercise & Sport Sciences. He graduates this month and plans to begin a master’s program in Physical Therapy this fall.
Finding the good in people and situations has always served Khuran well — first in high school and later at Guilford.
“I’m a pretty positive person to begin with, but the people at Guilford are the best,” he says. “I'll talk to really anybody, even if I don't know you. Most Guilford students are like that. We might not know your name, but we can still say hi, and hopefully you’ll say hi back. That’s Guilford — everybody knows your face. It’s been a great four years for me.”
Earlier this year, Khuran decided he wanted to wrap up his four years with what he calls “one last hurrah.” He enrolled in “Mindfulness and Social Action,” a class taught by John A. Von Weissenfluh Professor of Religious Studies Eric Mortensen, which uses Buddhist mindfulness meditation and practice to explore environmentalism, intersectional systems of oppression, and issues of social justice and injustice.
The course was a prerequisite for taking part in Eric’s three-week Zen and Shinto class in Kyoto, Japan, which explores Japanese philosophy.
Khuran’s parents are Cambodian, and he hopes to learn more about their lives and Southeast and East Asia during the trip.
“It’s a great way to wrap up my time at Guilford,” he says. “I’m going to miss it.”