My name is David Pugh, and I am currently pursing my doctoral degree in physical therapy, with a goal to become an expert clinician. I am also considering continuing education in the future to get a PhD in order to give back to the profession by teaching the next generation of therapists. My interest in going into the physical therapy profession began in high school as I was trying to find a career that I would enjoy. I considered my interests and skill sets and decided that I wanted to look into physical therapy because it represented the intersection of my passions for health, fitness, and wellness, and my love for teaching and developing relationships to help people become more independent. So, I spent time volunteering and shadowing in physical therapy clinics and realized that this is the career I was made for - the opportunity to help people reach their full potential and do things they never thought they could is incredibly fulfilling for me. At that point, my goal was set before me. I went into my undergraduate studies at Texas A&M and pursued a degree in biomedical engineering to improve my critical thinking and problem solving skills, and frankly because the challenge seemed exciting to me. While I studied, I got a job working as a physical therapy technician on campus so that I could get more experience in the field that I wanted to go into. Little did I know that the choice to graduate with a degree in engineering would set me up with further opportunities down the line. When I started my graduate studies at Texas Woman's University, I was approached by a professor who asked if I would be willing to help her work on research she was doing on stroke patients. Given my engineering background, she thought that I could be a helpful addition to the team. I said yes, and as a result I got to see what went into building the body of knowledge that helps clinicians treat patients effectively, and learned how I can help make an impact on the world, even now, as a student. I was also blessed with the opportunity to speak at a couple of large fundraiser events at my school's health campus and main campus, where I was allowed to represent the School of Physical Therapy to many donors to the school. During all of this experience, I learned about the value of giving back to the profession and was given a vision for ways that I can help advance the field of therapy in larger ways than simply being a clinician. As I move forward, I feel that I've been given more purpose and direction for how my career can be used to make a larger impact on the world. I still plan to start as a practicing clinician, of course, but I have been inspired to learn as much as I can, to become an expert, and to pass my knowledge on to the people coming behind me. This will mean becoming a mentor so that I can take on students of my own and teach them how to practice, and I am also considering going back to pursue a PhD after a few years of practicing. In the meantime, I make it my goal to learn everything I can, to network with people that can strengthen me as a professional, and to grow as a person so that I can give back more to my community and bless them in every way that I can.

"The Office" is a masterfully produced television comedy that I am convinced will go down in history not just as a popular TV program, but one that has shaped the style of sitcoms that have come after it. Many a millennial's life has been shaped by The Office, as it has represented a comfortable and familiar place to return to after a long day of work, school, and "real world" responsibilities. But aside from being an escape, the characters and dynamics in the show offer real value to help shape us as we go into the workplace. Personally, the character that I tend to resonate the most with is Dwight, because of his nerdy tendencies and his ability to persevere past his mistakes (many though they may be) and grow by the end of the series. I have always been a nerdy guy myself, enjoying Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and even math, so, put simply, I just found a lot of his nerdy comments and jokes amusing, endearing Dwight to me as a character. On a deeper level, we see Dwight struggle at many points through the years of The Office, whether in his relationship with Angela or in his failure and eventual success at being a manager at the office. As I have made many mistakes myself over the years, it was always an encouragement to look at Dwight and see his failures through the years, and to see him learn from them and come back stronger. This has made me stronger as a person, and though there are many reasons that I don't want to be just like Dwight in my professional or personal lives, we get to see him grow as a person throughout the series, and this has reminded me that my negative qualities are not destined to always haunt me, either. The Office has also shaped my perspective on the workplace by showing me that the thing that makes a job interesting does not have to be the work itself, but is far more greatly impacted by the people you work with and the relationships formed with them. There is nothing interesting about Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and I think that is kind of the point. The show is not entertaining because of the amazing work that the people are doing, it's captivating because of the people themselves. Obviously, in the show, the characters are taken to outlandish extremes that I would never expect nor hope to see in a real work environment - that's what makes it funny. But despite this exaggeration of humorous character traits, it shows us how the unique qualities of ourselves and our coworkers are actually what make the worth work doing. As I strive to enter into a career in healthcare, this makes a big difference to me. It allows me to take the blinders off from looking only at the duties of the job I am trying to do, in order that I may see and appreciate the beautiful idiosyncrasies of the people around me. For this reason, among many others, I am thankful for The Office.

Video games were always a favorite pastime of my family when I was growing up; we poured hours into LEGO games, Rock Band, Mario Party, and Wii sports, but there was one game that stood head and shoulders above the rest: Mario Kart. In my family, Mario Kart was a staple because of its appeal to people of all age groups and ability levels. It was enjoyable for me and my younger sister, for my father (the family nerd), and for my mom, who was technologically challenged, to put it kindly. Despite our varying ages and aptitudes for the electronic arts, Mario Kart was able to capture our hearts and brought us together from when it came out in 2008 to this day. During my childhood, Mario Kart was a family activity at least two or three nights a week. Whenever we did not have other evening activities that had us out of the house, there was a high likelihood that we would be in the upstairs loft dropping banana peels and dodging green shells. This was a time of forming the close family bonds that have held as the years have passed. Once I moved off to college, my family was not able to spend as much time together, so whenever my sister and I came home, it was important for the family to find activities that we all enjoyed participating in together. Again, Mario Kart stepped up to the plate. In this season, playing the game together meant that we got to sit together, laugh, and reminisce on old times. And of course, whoever won the last match of the trip home had bragging rights until next time. Now that I am married and in graduate school, I get to spend far less time with my family than I used to, but Mario Kart still makes regular appearances. In fact, my wife has even been drawn into the racing circle and has won her fair share of races. And even though opportunities to play are fewer and further between, I often sit and think fondly on the countless hours spent with my family in just about every season of my life, able to bond over a game that we all love. To me, Mario Kart is not about the courses or the karts or the characters (although I still hold that I can beat anyone on any race track using Funky Kong on the Flame Runner) - it's all about the time spent with family - time spent laughing, in triumphant victories, in challenging each other, and yes, in the occasional fight. And for this reason, I will forever be thankful for how Nintendo has helped shape my life and my family.