"Push, push the ball up the court! Come on!" I remember my coach yelling as I got a rebound and turned to make an outlet pass. I threw the ball, but it didn't go where I expected because at the same moment, my knee gave out. It was then I knew I'd have some work ahead. Not basketball, but rehab. I will be a sophomore this fall at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and have chosen to major in Exercise Science. Afterwards I plan to attend graduate school for physical therapy. I was inspired to become a physical therapist due to my personal experiences and rehabilitation process and watching my family benefit from physical therapy as well. Besides my personal experience, I am also compelled to be a physical therapist because I'm interested in science, fitness and I enjoy helping others. My passion for fitness, and the human body is a perfect way to align my career with my interests. The role allows me to stay active and promote healthy living. Working with a variety of people, athletes, or even children is interesting. Helping people recover from injuries, gain strength, or improving performance is intriguing to me. Being a physical therapist offers the opportunity to make a direct and meaningful impact on people's lives by helping them recover from injuries, manage pain, and improve their physical abilities. I enjoy building strong relationships with patients and seeing their progress. This role allows me to have regular face-to-face interaction and the development of trust and rapport with patients. My family has involved me with volunteer work as I was growing up in our small town of Milaca, MN. We would organize and run church activities, volunteer to fundraise and do projects at a local bible camp, and assist in the caring for our community parks. I was taught to always look for ways to make the world better. It can be done by doing projects, raising donations, or spreading kindness to people. I plan to positively impact patients and the community where I live. Caring for people was ingrained in me as I grew up. I can impact people as a physical therapist by helping them overcome injury, gaining strength or improving their movements. Clinics and hospitals are often leaders in the community with volunteering, especially in small towns. I embrace the words of Maya Angelou: "When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better."

"Push, push the ball up the court! Come on!" I remember my coach yelling as I got a rebound and turned to make an outlet pass. I threw the ball, but it didn't go where I expected because at the same moment, my knee gave out. It was then I knew I'd have some work ahead. Not basketball, but rehab. This fall I will be a sophomore at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. I am majoring in Exercise Science. At Luther, I am able to juggle being on the women's basketball team and also being in choir. Balancing basketball, choir, and my classes is a challenge and yet, is rewarding. After Luther, I plan to continue my education at a graduate school for physical therapy. I am inspired to become a physical therapist due to my personal experiences with rehabilitation and my observations of my family members as they have done rehab with physical therapists. My interests in science, fitness and helping others has I am compelled to be a physical therapist. Being a strong math and science student during elementary and high school, I was in the advanced math classes and took college credit in high school for both math and science. I explored many STEAM careers. I pursued being a math or science teacher, being a nurse or physician assistant and doing biotechnology. I have concluded that physical therapy is the right choice for me. My passion for science, fitness, and the human body is a perfect way to align my career with my interests. Being a physical therapist offers the opportunity to make a direct and meaningful impact on people's lives by helping them recover from injuries, manage pain, and improve their physical abilities. I enjoy building strong relationships with patients and seeing their progress. This role allows me to have regular face-to-face interaction and the development of trust and rapport with patients. During the pandemic, the medical community was essential and an immense stress was put on medical staff. I think I can be one of these essential people that care for people and make decisions that help them. My science knowledge and abilities can be put to good use for others. My drive to be a physical therapist is because of my personal experience, my interest in science and math, and the desire to positively impact my patients as they recover and improve their physical well-being.

"Push, push the ball up the court! Come on!" I remember my coach yelling as I got a rebound and turned to make an outlet pass. I threw the ball, but it didn't go where I expected because at the same moment, my knee gave out. It was then I knew I'd have some work ahead. Not basketball, but rehab. I have chosen to major in Exercise Science and afterwards to graduate school for Physical Therapy. I was inspired to become a Physical Therapist due to my personal experiences and rehabilitation process. Besides my personal experience, I am also compelled to be a Physical Therapist because I'm interested in health and fitness and I enjoy helping others. My passion for health, fitness, and the human body is a perfect way to align my career with my interests. The role allows me to stay active and promote healthy living. Working with athletes can be interesting, and helping them recover from injuries or improving performance is intriguing to me. Being a Physical Therapist offers the opportunity to make a direct and meaningful impact on people's lives by helping them recover from injuries, manage pain, and improve their physical abilities. I enjoy building strong relationships with patients and seeing their progress. This role allows me to have regular face-to-face interaction and the development of trust and rapport with patients. My drive to be a Physical Therapist is because of my personal experience, my interest in personal health and fitness, and the desire to positively impact my patients as they recover and improve their physical well-being.

Strong! I want to help students and athletes be strong. I plan to be a Physical Education teacher and coach. I was fortunate to have multiple people teach me to be strong as I was growing up and I plan to continue. My swimming coaches and Phy. Ed teacher were great influences on me. Plus, both of my parents helped me to grow and be strongc. Coach Burroughs and Wildman were tough coaches and taught the team to work hard. When workouts or meets got tough they helped me rise up. They believed in me and helped me to believe in myself. They created a team that had strong connections across the grade levels. We learned to help each other train and push each other to be better. Coach Arens was my Phy. Ed teacher and Strength Coach. He also pushed me and challenged me. He would spend additional time so I could get on the Records Board. He taught me the necessary details to lift safely and to develop for my sports. He helped me increase my vertical which helped in both basketball and high jump. My parents are both teachers and coaches. I’ve seen how they have helped students, connected with athletes, supported families and made our small town of 3000 people better. They coached both my brother’s and my travel basketball teams. My mother, Wendy, is the Head Girls’ Track and Field Coach. She works with both boys and girls on the track team. Some have great success competing but some just need to be apart of a team and feel supported. She had to juggle watching and cheering for me and all the other athletes. It is important to her to make connections with her athletes and students. I know she works hard being a fourth grade teacher. She enjoys finding new challenges and activities for her students. My father, Cory, was a football and basketball coach and now is a referee for both. He has helped me the most in basketball which is my favorite sport. He helps me see the game and the different perspectives people have of the game. He was my 5th grade teacher and is passionate about teaching students to have a Growth Mindset. I am a culmination of all of them and want to influence students and athletes to have a Growth Mindset, work hard, value education, and care for others. In my community there are few female coaches. I plan to teach and coach because I think female athletes need to see strong female coaches.

Love thy neighbor! That’s my motto for my career and life. I’m pursuing a degree in exercise science and plan to continue with a graduate degree in Physical Therapy. My dream career is working with youth who have physical challenges. Many of these youth have emotional and social needs as well as physical needs. Helping them develop and grow would be a blessing. I want to follow in my aunt’s footsteps of working at Gillette Children’s Hospital Clinic. She has worked with a variety of children with disabilities or physical challenges. In some occasions she has worked with children in a pool. It is a fantastic way to get stronger and share a skill I love. I was a our high school swim team and my family loves spending time swimming at lakes. I would love to share this talent with children. Jesus told us “whatever you do unto the least of these, my brother, you do to me”. I want to care for others especially children like Jesus told us to. I plan to live like Jesus and love like Jesus. With a career in Physical Therapy I can also share my faith with my coworkers. The people I work with will likely be people who care for others so sharing my faith and outreach with them can help create a strong work environment. I grew up attending worship and singing in a contemporary band. I plan to continue after graduation. Inviting others to my place or worship is a great way to share my faith. I grew up attending bible camps and sharing my faith. I hope to be able to volunteer at Camp Courage as a physical therapist. I know of physical therapists and others who work at this summer camp created for people with disabilities. It is a wonderful way to help these people enjoy outdoor activities. I pray that I’m a good fit for this scholarship. Paying for an undergraduate and graduate degree is stressful. Both my parents are teachers and value education and support me in my choices but don’t have excess money to pay for college. This scholarship will help me so I can reduce my loans. God’s peace to you as you and thank you for giving scholarships to strong faith based students. I plan to do my best at living a God centered life and to love like Jesus. Abby Anderson Milaca, Mn