What made you want to become a Physical Therapist?
Physical therapy impacts my life indirectly. Before I knew about the career reliability, salary, and intensive education that encompasses physical therapy, my first encounter with the field was through my mom. The experience of watching and listening to the stories about her work and the impact it left on their families was inspiring. Before I knew anything about the quality of life or rehabilitation, my mom represented what a physical therapist embodies. From there I took my own steps into exploring PT by volunteering at a school for children with special needs. I watched how the pediatric physical therapist was not just working on rehabilitation of one certain area, they were strategizing a plan for a child’s entire life. At that moment I knew that I wanted to be a physical therapist.
How do you think this program has helped you prepare for graduate school?
The Rutgers DPT 4+3 program has helped me prepare for graduate school by keeping me on track and focused. During this hectic time, it is hard to keep the future in mind, but my advisors are always there to talk, connect to help me, and resolve my issues in any way possible. Since I started my sophomore year I had my advisors check up on me to see how I am doing, and even set up a resume building workshop which provided me a deeper understanding of what a resume should look like. All of these meetings and workshops have calmed my worries about graduate school and I can happily say that I am on track to achieve my dreams.
A fun fact about me is that I am a twin! I have a twin sister who is pursuing speech therapy at Seton Hall University!