Gino Panza was born and raised in Monroe, Michigan. He attended Adrian College where he majored in Exercise Science. At Adrian College Gino participated in the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and played football all four years. After graduation he became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and practiced for one year before attending Central Michigan University. At CMU Gino was in charge of the human physiology lab course for the undergraduates' Human Physiology lecture. Gino was also teaching assistant for the undergraduate pathophysiology and exercise physiology course and the graduate level exercise physiology course. Gino's master's research was on Exercise Associated Muscle Cramps (EAMC) and its reaction to static stretching.
Gino aspires to be a physiology professor, and contribute to the development or growth of an undergraduate and graduate program.
"The rehabilitation science program at Mason was unlike most programs I visited. I was not going to follow the individual in front of me; independent thought is major variable built into this program. I know others who are in different programs where they are collecting a lot of data and sitting through classes where they are expected to memorize facts. Our program, which is full of content, also stresses learning how these facts are obtained and if they are what they are presented as. I would encourage students who are serious about developing a new level of intelligence and working within an interdisciplinary program to consider the rehabilitation science program at Mason. I would also encourage them to be open-minded as challenging conventional thinking is not easy."