About Me
After spraining my ankle at the start of my senior season, I would do anything to get back on the field with my team. Luckily, a few visits with a physical therapist did the trick. These visits that seemed like a formality eventually ended up rerouting my entire vision for my future career - I went from "aspiring biological researcher" to "DPT hopeful."
As a senior at IUPUI, I am constantly looking toward the future. After I graduate in the spring of 2023 with a degree in biology and a minor in health psychology, I would like to pursue a doctorate of physical therapy (DPT) degree. In September, I applied to four different DPT programs and hope to continue my PT graduate journey at a school in Indianapolis. I have had many valuable experiences while at IUPUI, some notable ones were my time as a Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) leader, my work in the Institute for Engaged Learning (IEL), my lab research experience, and my PT shadowing experience.
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I knew as a freshman that I wanted to get involved in various ways on campus. I played soccer for 8 years, so I was immediately interested in playing on a recreational team. I put up flyers around campus with my email to gather other people interested in forming a team. Quite a few students joined, and it allowed me
Soccer as an Extracurricular
to meet so many new people and start off college on a good note. I still play with many of those same people on a recreational team each fall. I am happy to participate in something that takes my mind off of school and allows me an opportunity to recalibrate during stressful times. Given my history playing soccer coupled with the fact that soccer launched me into my pursuit of a career in physical therapy, I am grateful for the recreational sports program at IUPUI.
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Involvement on Campus
As a sophomore, I became a PLTL leader for second semester general chemistry, C106. As a PLTL leader, I work with students to understand the complicated chemistry material they are learning and support them as they work toward success in that class. I still am a PLTL leader and intend to continue as one until I graduate. Later in my college career, I became an ePortfolio Studio Consultant in the IEL, where I worked with students and faculty on best practices for creating
a successful ePortfolio. I have been working in the position for a year and a half and as my former boss and co-consultant left IUPUI, I have helped train the new consultant and build more curricular tools and resources for ePortfolios across campus. After a promotion, I am now an ePortfolio Senior Ambassador for the IEL.
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Laboratory Research Experience
I made the decision to major in biology because as I entered college, I was interested in both PT and biological research. At the time, I could not decide between the two until I was able to gain real-world experience in both fields. A major in biology would allow me to complete a majority of the physical therapy prerequisite classes while completing my degree program, as well as allowing me to explore the world of laboratory research. As a first semester freshman, I got the opportunity to work in a lab for the first time; I worked with Dr. Lata Balakrishnan and the graduate students earning their masters and doctorates in that lab as well. At the start, I was young and inexperienced, so I mostly did maintenance style tasks, such as cleaning the lab equipment, autoclaving materials, and making alcohol and buffer solutions. As I got more comfortable, I was able to learn more detailed and difficult lab experiments to help the graduate students that I worked with. Eventually, I could prepare my own denaturing gels, run my own protein assays, and analyze the gel results. For the summer of 2021, I got a research scholarship through the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Institute (MURI) and was able to continue working with Dr. Balakrishnan. I primarily worked alongside a Brandon Wysong, a graduate student working toward a master’s degree, as he completed research for his thesis. The bulk of my research that summer was studying the role of the CST complex in DNA damage repair. You can learn more about my MURI project in the poster I made to the right.
Final Shift to Full-Time PT Track
While the research I did was incredibly interesting and I loved the people I worked with, I found that my passions for biology and supporting people lined up with a career in physical therapy. With that realization, I left the research lab behind and started immersing myself in my prerequisite classes for PT school. I found that I really enjoyed the material and labs in my anatomy and physiology courses, so I began searching for a hands-on experience with a licensed physical therapist to learn more. I got the opportunity to shadow at the Indiana Physical Therapy clinic and learned so much about the profession. I observed the patient interactions and saw from the therapist’s point of view how to help someone reach their goal. As I shadowed more and more, I started asking myself questions that tied physical therapy into my everyday life. What exercise can I do to stretch my sore legs? Which muscle do I want to target for it to be most effective? I started thinking like a physical therapist and this shadowing experience only deepened my passion for physical therapy.
As I reflect on all the things I have done while a student at IUPUI, I am grateful for the experience I have had and the people I have met. I also know that I feel confident in my decision to pursue physical therapy, so I am excited to have the opportunity to frame my senior capstone project around that passion.