Granite Bay grad earns national scholarship, hopes to give back some day by becoming a doctor

Before Macy Coad was two years old, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Through her youth and continuing on through her teenage years as a high school student at Granite Bay High, she battled the condition and succeeded as a member of the swim team. Coad earned a partial athletic scholarship to attend the University of Pacific (UOP) and is currently a sophomore and a member of the women's swim team. For the second straight year, Coad, 19, was the recipient of the $20,000 national AbbVie Immunology Scholarship, one of 34 winners this year. "Receiving this scholarship is an opportunity more than anything," said Coad, a 2025 graduate of Granite Bay High School. "I think everybody knows college has gotten quite expensive, and unfortunately for me, I fell in love with a school that is more expensive. My family saved money all my years of growing up, but the reality is it wasn't enough and I have really big dreams of becoming a doctor that works with kids with chronic conditions like mine. My doctors did such an amazing job and made a huge difference for me, and I want to be able to do the same for other kids someday. This scholarship unlocks more doors for me to be able to do that and helps the money that my family has saved stretch further as well into medical school." Coad has suffered through JIA all of her life, but it was particularly worse when she was younger. "JIA used to be a lot more severe and encompassed a lot of my life dealing with the disease, like going to the doctors, going to the lab and going to physical therapy," Coad said. "It's an invisible disease – no one really can tell I have arthritis. People are always shocked when I say I have it. Not only does it affect you physically, but arthritis also has a mental and emotional toll because you have to adapt to so many different challenges that not a lot of other people can relate to and that can be tough trying to overcome as well. "When I was younger, it was definitely more severe. I have polyarticular JIA, so it affects my hips, knees and ankles. It's not just one joint; it's several. When I was younger, I would have to miss school, soccer practice and swim practice. I wasn't able to participate, because I was in so much pain or had doctor's appointments. That was really difficult growing up, feeling like I was on the sidelines, almost not getting to fully experience everything that my peers were experiencing. "I would say as I grew up, myself, my family and my care team worked together more and found a treatment plan that worked. I got to live a more normal life. I didn't miss school as often and was able to really get into swimming. Now that I'm an adult and off at college, it does still affect me sometimes. When it gets colder, I end up more stiff. If I do a lot of impact training, like jumping in the lift, then the next day I pay the price, but I don't let it affect me as much anymore." As a young girl, Coad enjoyed soccer, and started playing as a four-year-old. She played until she was 11 and really enjoyed the sport, but her body couldn't keep up as the JIA made it super painful. Her physical therapist suggested she try swimming. "I used to do soccer when I was little, but as with any sport that involves running, it is an impact sport, specifically on your leg joints, which are my problem joints and so that was really difficult, and I wasn't really able to participate," Coad said. "My physical therapist suggested trying out swimming as a way to still participate in sports but not impact my joints. That summer, when I was seven, I joined my city's recreational age-group club team, the Granite Bay Gators, and I just fell in love with it. I'm a competitive person, so I liked racing, and I really did love it. In high school, when it comes down to it, you have to pick one thing to focus on and be really good at. I picked swimming and stuck with it, and now I'm here swimming D1 at UOP." At UOP, Coad competes in the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, as well as the 200 and 100 backstroke events. Since a young age, Coad, with her parents' help prior to high school, has raised money for the Arthritis Foundation. Coad took over with the fundraising when she was 13 or 14, and altogether has raised more than $200,000. "It was more my parents at first because I was diagnosed when I was so young," Coad explained. "At first the Arthritis Foundation was just a support group. Then my mom found out about the "Walk to Cure Arthritis," and we started a team for myself. It was just a way for all of our family and friends to show up and show support. It actually did quite well, and we've continued to do it every year. When my mom passed the baton to me to be in charge of our team when I was 13 or 14, I thought that was really cool. That was a big motivating factor because I felt like this is my baby. This is my project. I'm really proud of what myself and all of my loved ones have done together. We've raised more than $200,000 over the years, and I'm proud of that. That is a lot of money that's going toward programs for kids with arthritis, such as a sleepaway camp that I was a counselor for this summer, research, treatment, things that help people like me. It's just a really simple way for me to give back." Coad is majoring in health and exercise science at the UOP. With her major, she also hopes to get a job in which she can give back to others for all the help and support she's received over the years. "I decided to major in health and exercise science because I am an athlete, but also because it is a lot more focused on people than just a general biology major," Coad said. "Once I graduate, my goal is to attend medical school. My dream medical school would be Stanford because I've been going to their children's hospital and seeing their pediatric rheumatologist since I was two, and I think that would be a very special and full-circle moment. "I want to be a doctor, and would really like to work with kids. My doctors have been so amazing, and I want to be a doctor too. I don't know exactly what sub-specialty I would like to do, but I would like to work with kids with chronic conditions. As I'm learning more in my classes, as I get into upper division courses and explore what's interesting to me, I think that will become clearer."