Currently, I am aspiring to obtain my Doctorate in Physical Therapy in hopes of becoming a physical therapist. As a child I was quite active, partaking in local races, club volleyball, and dance competitions, and in doing so, I incurred several injuries which led to two different surgeries. However, it was while I was being treated for my injuries and recovering from surgeries that I was exposed to the world of physical therapy. I was fascinated by the incorporation of health science and athletics and how physical therapists mold various rehabilitation exercises to an individual's lifestyle. Thus, in my senior year of high school, I chose to take a CTE (career technical education) course. It was through this course that I worked with a Certified Athletic Trainer and a Physical Therapist. Upon working with these individuals, I accumulated just under 700 hours in seven months. Despite these hours, I was also taking eight academic classes: two of which were AP classes, and two of which were college courses at Clovis Community College (as I was a dual-enrollment student). Additionally, I was selected to compete for my high school at a sports medicine competition in three separate categories and was awarded my CPR certification by the American Heart Association. I believe that a career in physical therapy will bring me fulfillment as I love to be able to help patients not only recover from surgeries or regain mobility but also improve their current quality of life. I have always been interested in healthcare careers, but I was particularly drawn to physical therapy for a couple of reasons. For one, I have been a physical therapy patient multiple times over the years, and I loved the experience, and I hope to be able to continue the cycle and positively impact my future patients through their physical therapy experience. I also hope that my experience as a patient will allow me to better connect with my future patients. Additionally, in my personal experience, the interactions between patients and their doctors, whether it be family medicine physicians, general practitioners, nurses, cardiologists, etc., are often quite brief and without a follow-up appointment. However, with physical therapy, the physical therapist, depending on whether the setting is in-patient or outpatient, may see the patient daily, or at least two or three times a week for several weeks (or even upwards of several months or a year). With this schedule, the physical therapist can observe the growth over time and assist the patients in their journey, both physical and mental, and be there with them every step of the way. Currently, I am working at an outpatient physical therapy clinic as the lead physical therapy aide. The past three years here have been an absolute joy as it is so rewarding to be able to see the progress of so many patients each and every day. The connections that I have formed over the years are so dear to me, and it makes it all the more exciting when they finally get to "graduate" from physical therapy. Additionally, upon making corrections to a patient's form or adjusting an exercise depending on one's symptoms, seeing a patient's eyes light up when they are able to execute a movement without pain or achieve a certain amount range of motion can truly brighten my day.

Hello! My name is Caetlyn Oba-Spence, I am twenty years old, and I graduated from Clovis North High School back in June 2020. During that time, I partook in extracurricular activities such as girl scouts, club volleyball, and dance competitions. However, playing volleyball and dancing resulted in numerous injuries and two surgeries. While being treated for my injuries and recovering from surgeries, I was exposed to the world of physical therapy. I was fascinated by the incorporation of health science and athletics, and the molding of the rehabilitation exercises to the individual's lifestyle. So in high school, I chose to take a CTE (careers in technical education) course. It was through this class that I worked with both a Certified Athletic Trainer and a Physical Therapist. Upon working with these individuals, I accumulated just under 700 hours in seven months. In addition to working these hours, I also took eight academic courses, two of which were AP classes, and two of which were college courses at Clovis Community College. Additionally, I was selected to compete for my high school at a sports medicine competition in three separate categories and was awarded my CPR certification by the American Heart Association. I am currently working at an outpatient physical therapy clinic as the lead aide. Typically, I work around 6-10 hours a day, and it is so rewarding to be able to see the progress of so many patients every day. I am extremely grateful for this job, for not only has it provided real-world experience, but the staff has come to be my second family. Regarding academic and career goals, I am majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies, and I plan to attend a graduate program to obtain my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. In obtaining my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, I am hoping to assist as many individuals as I can, one patient at a time. I am aiming to enroll in the doctoral program at U.S. Army Baylor University, where I would become an officer before enrolling in the program. From there, I would serve as a physical therapist for the military. By joining the military, I could be a part of something greater than myself, something that will outlast and outlive me, a foundation that inspires hope and honor. I also hope to travel the world while doing what I love, helping as many patients as I can in a wide variety of age groups, injuries, environments, and lifestyles. In doing so, I would have the opportunity to broaden my perspective of the world. I would truly appreciate this scholarship award because while I am planning to pay off all of my educational costs through my undergraduate education by working while attending school, I will certainly be relying on scholarships and student loans to help pay for graduate school. Regarding my future tuition fees and other associated expenses, I am planning to pay for my education by working through school, with the help of scholarships and student loans. Currently, I have one year left of my undergraduate education, and thus far I have paid for all of my education on my own with the money I have earned by working through school. For instance, this past semester I took 23 units while working 15-20 hours per week, and over the summer, I am working just under 40 hours a week. For me, heavy metal music provides an escape from reality, or simply a few moments of peace. When I am stressed, I often turn to music such as heavy metal to drown out all of the stressful thoughts. Additionally, the music can be quite powerful not only in volume but also on an emotional level, and I love that I can find comfort in the lyrics as well as how it positively affects my mental health.

The dream version of my "future self" is one in which I do not grow complacent, but rather continue to grow as an individual and an intellectual, consistently pushing myself out of my comfort zone to improve and expand my scope of the world and the contributions that I may make.