Falling in Love with Physical Therapy
Most people have an experience in their life that drew them to physical therapy, whether it was going to PT themselves or knowing a family member who went through PT. I never had that, but I knew I wanted to work somewhere in the medical field, but in a job that I was able to develop good connections with patients. When I stepped into the clinic at Akron Children's Hospital, I just had a feeling that I knew that this was something that I was meant to do; I think it was God telling me that this is where I'm meant to end up. I also shadowed physical therapists at an outpatient clinic during my senior year of undergrad. At Akron,however, I shadowed physical therapists working with kids, and I loved seeing how they came up with different ways to work with their young patients. This was my favorite experience because it showed me how to be creative with the people I love working with: kids! Becoming a pediatric PT is the field I want to go into, and those memories of watching the PT's at Akron Children's making such a big difference in those kids lives are what motivates me to graduate PT school here at Mount Union.
Why Mount Union?
One of the things about Mount Union's DPT program that I love so much is the cohort size. Coming from a big university in undergrad, I knew I wanted smaller classes so I could maker better connections with the students and staff. Comparing it to the size of other PT programs, I am so glad I chose Mount Union; the professors are so personable, and they truly care about everyone's success in the program. The class size also makes it easier to make connections with all my peers; we are all so close and it truly feels like a family in the best way. Mount's DPT program specializes in critical thinking skills, and that really sets us apart from other programs when we begin our clinical rotations, and makes us more prepared.