Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall,the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall,the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall,the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Mental health has always been important to me, but in this past year, it has come to the forefront of my mind. Just over a year ago, my dad committed suicide. When I got the call saying he was in the hospital, the absolute last reason I would have thought for this was trying to take his own life. He was put on life support and passed 2 days later - just weeks after I finished the winter semester of my senior year. He would never see me graduate. Just days before his youngest daughter's 18th birthday and months before her high school graduation as well. None of it made sense. He was always so happy and outgoing. You never would have guessed he was struggling. No one knew the internal battle he was fighting and unfortunately lost. Because of this, I believe mental health awareness is very important. It has made me realize I need to take better care of myself and check in on those I love. I focus on my own mental health by prioritizing things that are important to me. One of the things I love the most is working out. With a busy schedule, I still make sure to prioritize this, even if it means waking up early because it is important to me. Another thing I do for my mental health is dance. I have been a dancer since I was 2 years old, but it wasn't until high school when my stresses increased and dance was the place I felt truly free, that I realized the importance of dancing for my mental health. I could put my feelings and emotions into dance. I could forget about the world and just be in my little bubble of the music and the steps. After high school, I continued dancing on my college kickline team. Now after graduating college, I am seeking out recreational dance opportunities to keep fueling my passion. Realizing that my dad's pain went unnoticed made me more aware of the feelings of those around me. Even happy people can be struggling silently. Because of this, I make sure to reach out to my friends and family in times when I know they need it, but also randomly as well as an emotional check-in. Entering the field of physical therapy, I also want to be there for my patients. No matter what they are seeing me for, I will always make sure to do a depression screening. This seems to be something so simple, but I could be the only person asking these questions, which could allow them to finally open up. Beyond this, I will always be there to listen to my patients. Taking it a step further, I will consistently be on the lookout for when this extends beyond my scope of practice and counsel them on how to seek out psychological help. There is not always a trigger to these emotions, and it is okay to just have your feelings. What's not okay is to hold these feelings in. Many people will not seek help for themselves, which is why I have been much more active in seeking out tough conversations to make sure I am there for my people.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. In my senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came when my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother succeed with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bedbound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post-concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall, the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Mental health has always been important to me, but in this past year it has come to the forefront of my mind.Just over a year ago, my dad committed suicide. When I got the call saying he was in the hospital, the absolute last reason I would have thought for this was trying to take his own life. He was put on life support and passed 2 days later - just weeks after I finished the winter semester of my senior year. He would never see me graduate. Just days before his youngest daughter's 18th birthday and months before her high school graduation as well. None of it made sense. He was always so happy and outgoing. You never would have guessed he was struggling. No one knew the internal battle he was fighting and unfortunately lost. Because of this, I believe mental health awareness is very important. It has made me realize I need to take better care of myself and check in on those I love. I focus on my own mental health by prioritizing things that are important to me. One of the things I love the most is working out. With a busy schedule, I still make sure to prioritize this, even if it means waking up early because it is important to me. Another thing I do for my mental health is dance. I have been a dancer since I was 2 years old, but it wasn't until high school when my stresses increased and dance was the place I felt truly free, that I realized the importance of dancing for my mental health. I could put my feelings and emotions into dance. I could forget about the world and just be in my little bubble of the music and the steps. After high school, I continued dancing on my college kickline team. Now after graduating college, I am seeking out recreational dacne opportunities to keep fueling my passion. Realizing that my dad's pain went unnoticed made me more aware of the feelings of those around me. Even happy people can be struggling silently. Because of this, I make sure to reach out to my friends and family in times when I know they need it, but also randomly as well as an emotional check-in. There is not always a trigger to these emotions, and it is okay to just have your feelings. What's not okay is to hold these feelings in. Many people will not seek help for themselves, which is why I have been much more active in seeking out tough conversations to make sure I am there for my people.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. Physical therapists are able to make a tremendous impact, and I want to be a part of this field. My desire to become a PT is fueled by my own personal success with physical therapy, as well as that of my mother and sister. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. During my senior year of high school I performed a jump, and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. The next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain and I started PT for this injury. After a few weeks, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My physical therapist then believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions. Because of my physical therapist, I was able to return to dance with as minimal pain as possible, up until my surgery date. Prior to my surgery, the surgeon told me that I would never be able to dance to my full abilities again due to pain and restricted range of motion. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Through PT, my goal was achieved. It is my physical therapist that got me through this extremely difficult time and greatly impacted my life after surgery as well. I was inspired to become a physical therapist to do for other young athletes what she was able to do for me. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema as a result. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with her lymphedema, until she decided to give physical therapy a try. She began to experience decreased swelling and was able to get a compression sleeve. PT completely changed her way of life due to her being able to have almost complete function and reduce pain in her arm. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her physical therapist did to hers. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, she had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a physical therapist was able to come into our home. She was extremely flexible and understanding. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. This may seem like a small success, but it has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in PT has been reaffirmed by my recent experience as a rehab aide. I have already seen astonishing progress in patients. Each patient success I feel personally and am proud of each of their milestones. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine as a physical therapist. PT is truly a life changing experience and I am proud to be entering this career.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. Physical therapists are able to make a tremendous impact, and I want to be a part of this field. My desire to become a PT is fueled by my own personal success with physical therapy, as well as that of my mother and sister. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. During my senior year of high school I performed a jump, and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. The next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain and I started PT for this injury. After a few weeks, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My physical therapist then believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions. Because of my physical therapist, I was able to return to dance with as minimal pain as possible, up until my surgery date. Prior to my surgery, the surgeon told me that I would never be able to dance to my full abilities again due to pain and restricted range of motion. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Through PT, my goal was achieved. It is my physical therapist that got me through this extremely difficult time and greatly impacted my life after surgery as well. I was inspired to become a physical therapist to do for other young athletes what she was able to do for me. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema as a result. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with her lymphedema, until she decided to give physical therapy a try. She began to experience decreased swelling and was able to get a compression sleeve. PT completely changed her way of life due to her being able to have almost complete function and reduce pain in her arm. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her physical therapist did to hers. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, she had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a physical therapist was able to come into our home. She was extremely flexible and understanding. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. This may seem like a small success, but it has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in PT has been reaffirmed by my recent experience as a rehab aide. I have already seen astonishing progress in patients. Each patient success I feel personally and am proud of each of their milestones. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine as a physical therapist. PT is truly a life changing experience and I am proud to be entering this career.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall,the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Success is defined through the eye of the beholder. To me, success is meeting the individual goals you set for yourself. I think so far in life I have successfully moved towards my goals. I would not yet say I am “successful”, but I am actively working closer to it. I will define myself as successful after I complete my ultimate goal of becoming a Pediatric Physical Therapist. This opportunity would help me in funding my education, as I work towards this goal by getting my Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Sacred Heart University. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to enter the healthcare field. I grew up with a chronically ill sister and watching her struggle I felt helpless. I knew that one day I wanted to help sick children like her. When the time came for college applications it was a no-brainer to me what I wanted to pursue. However, some may say I failed by originally picking the wrong major. I entered UConn as a biology major with the intent of entering the healthcare field, but not yet sure what aspect of it. I quickly realized that I was not actually learning much actual healthcare. While some may see this as a failure I saw it as a success - I learned a lot about myself and what I did NOT want to do, which moved me one step closer to my end goal. I switched my major and graduated with my B.S. in Allied Health and a well-rounded exposure to healthcare. During my undergraduate years on top of school I also worked. For me, this is part of my success story. I was eager to work in healthcare so on top of my regular coursework I took classes to become an EMT. I then worked in the city in order to begin gaining exposure to the healthcare field. Though I didn’t yet have my degree, this was a way I could work in healthcare while working towards my long-term career goals. Through my Allied Health Coursework as well as my own personal experiences, I realized my dream was to become a Physical Therapist. Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. I also saw what PT did for my sister, inspiring further to enter the field. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see patients progress . As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. I believe I will be “successful” when I become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with PT, as well as my mother’s and sister’s Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. My senior year of high school while performing at a football game, I did a jump and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain. I limped off the field after the dance and the next day was diagnosed with a hip flexor sprain. After weeks in physical therapy, the time came where my doctor said I should be healed, but I was still in immense pain. My PT believed I had a torn labrum and was misdiagnosed. She gave me the courage to advocate for myself to get an MRI, which confirmed her suspicions and I opted to get surgery. The surgeon told me I would never dance to my full abilities again. When I returned to PT post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Because of PT, I finished out my senior year of dance and then even went on to dance in college. It is my PT that got me through this difficult time and greatly impacted my life after my injury as well. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with PT. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with it, until she decided to give PT a try. Physical therapy changed her way of life due to her having increased function and reduced pain. The happiness PT gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her PT did. Not only did I witness my mother's PT success, but I saw my sister’s as well. Due to chronic illness, my sister had become bed bound. She was unable to even walk to the bathroom and had to have a commode placed in her room, which she needed assistance to access. PT had not been considered due to difficulty getting her there and her lack of energy. However, that changed when a PT was able to come into our home. The PT was extremely understanding of her needs. Through home PT, my sister has regained the ability to walk short distances unassisted. She was able to gain independence due to physical therapy which has motivated me to want to help other sick children like her. My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my experience as a rehab aide. It was amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall,the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a PT. My dream is to become a Pediatric Physical therapist. I want to be able to help developmentally challenged children navigate the world around them to the best of their abilities. I wish to continue to watch them grow to reach their full potential. I am so grateful I get to pursue a career where I get to touch the lives of young children and help them flourish.

Mental health has always been important to me, but in this past year it has come to the forefront of my mind. 6 months ago, my dad committed suicide. When I got the call saying he was in the hospital, teh absolute last reason I would have thought for this was trying to take his own life. He was put on life support and passed 2 days later - just weeks after I finished the winter semester of my senior year. He would never see me graduate. Just days before his youngest daughter's 18th birthday and months before her high school graduation as well. None of it made sense. He was always so happy and outgoing. You never would have guessed he was struggling. No one knew the internal battle he was fighting and unfortunately lost. Because of this, I believe mental health awareness is very important. It has made me realize I need to take better care of myself and check in on those I love. I focus on my own mental health by prioritizing things that are important to me. One of the things I love the most is working out. With a busy schedule, I still make sure to prioritize this, even if it means waking up early because it is important to me. Another thing I do for my mental health is dance. I have been a dancer since I was 2 years old, but it wasn't until high school when my stresses increased and dance was the place I felt truly free, that I realized the importance of dancing for my mental health. I could put my feelings and emotions into dance. I could forget about the world and just be in my little bubble of the music and the steps. After high school, I continued dancing on my college kickline team. Now after graduating college, I am seeking out recreational dacne opportunities to keep fueling my passion. Realizing that my dad's pain went unnoticed made me more aware of the feelings of those around me. Even happy people can be struggling silently. Because of this, I make sure to reach out to my friends and family in times when I know they need it, but also randomly as well as an emotional check-in. There is not always a trigger to these emotions, and it is okay to just have your feelings. What's not okay is to hold these feelings in. Many people will not seek help for themselves, which is why I have been much more active in seeking out tough conversations to make sure I am there for my people.

About 6 months ago, I got a call that changed my life. I was told my dad was in the hospital. My mind swirled thinking of what could have happened - a heart attack, a car accident, something work-related - but what had happened was the last thing I had expected. When I found out that my dad had attempted suicide I was in utter shock. He was always the loudest funniest guy in the room and I had never imagined he struggled with thoughts of killing himself. The shock quickly turned to panic when it was revealed that he was on life support and would not make it. My dad had killed himself. My first thought was pure anger. How could he do this? He had 3 daughters, a stepson he treated like his own, and a wife, he was happy! How could he be so selfish to put all of those around him in pain with his loss. After the anger passed, all I could do was blame myself. My parents were divorced so my thoughts were what if I had spent more time with him, or called him more. It took a lot of time to talk myself out of this mindset and if I'm being honest, I'm still not completely there yet. In my grieving process, my final thoughts have been wondering how no one knew the pain he was in. Everyone around him thought he was this goofy fun-loving guy. He would have been the absolute last person you ever thought had any mental health struggles. This has opened my eyes a lot. As corny as it sounds, you should always check up on those you love. This includes even the happiest of people. My dad's death is still very fresh so it is hard for me to write about. However, I'm trying to see whatever good I can in this tremendously difficult time. The taking of his own life has not only made me more aware of the feelings of those around me but of myself as well. I try to find joy every day and do things that make me happy. The stress of school is hard and time-consuming, but it is important to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. For me, a large part of this goes hand-in-hand with my career. Two true passions of mine are fitness and dance. My career aspirations are to be a physical therapist. I want to use fitness in a rehabilitative manner to help young athletes. I know this requires lots of hard work to get there, but I know it will make me happy, so it is what I am pursuing no matter the obstacles.

Ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. When I was little, my younger sister was constantly in and out of hospitals due to her chronic illness. I knew that one day, I needed to help others like her. Years later, when picking my college major it seemed like a no brainer: Allied Health Sciences. My dream is to be a Physical Therapist. Physical therapy is able to transform lives and I cannot imagine myself in any other career. My desire to become a physical therapist is fueled by my own personal success with physical therapy, as well as that of my mother and sister. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have been a dancer. I have a true passion for dance, which led me to joining my high school dance team. As a part of this team my senior year, we were performing a dance at a football game. During the dance, I performed a jump, and suddenly my hip was in excruciating pain, and I later found out I had torn my labrum.. Despite this, I wanted to get back to dance because it was my final year on the team. Because of my physical therapist, I was able to return to dance with as minimal pain as possible, up until my surgery date. Prior to my surgery, the surgeon told me that after surgery I would never be able to dance to my full abilities again due to pain and restricted range of motion. When I returned to physical therapy post-operation, I made my intentions clear: I wanted to prove the surgeon wrong. Through physical therapy, my goal was achieved. is my physical therapist that got me through this extremely difficult time and greatly impacted my life after surgery as well. I was inspired to become a physical therapist to do for other young athletes what she was able to do for me. Apart from my own experience, I have also witnessed my mother have success with physical therapy. About ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a survivor, but was left with lymphedema as a result. For years, she struggled with pain and immobility in her arm. She just accepted that she would have to deal with her lymphedema, until she decided to give physical therapy a try. She began to experience decreased swelling and was able to get a compression sleeve. Physical therapy completely changed her way of life due to her being able to have almost complete function and reduce pain in her arm. The happiness physical therapy gave my mom made me want to become a physical therapist to impact lives the way her physical therapist did to hers. l My interest in physical therapy has been reaffirmed by my recent experience as a rehab aide. I have already seen astonishing progress in patients. It is amazing to see the young girl stop getting headaches post concussion, and the elderly man begin to regain stability and balance after his fall, and the softball player return to playing after his knee surgery, and countless other success stories. Each patient success I feel personally and am proud of each of their milestones. As only a rehab aide, I have felt so much fulfillment, so I cannot imagine how gratified I will be as a physical therapist. Physical therapy is truly a life changing experience and I am proud to be entering this career in STEM.

Senior year of high school is both an exciting and nerve racking time. It’s college applications, proms, yearbook signings, sports events, deciding a major, preparing to say goodbye to all of your friends, and so much more. For me, I had the extra stress of a major injury in the fall of my senior year. I was a member of my high school dance team and during a performance at a football game halftime show, I tore the labrum in my right hip. I refused to stop dancing dancing my last year of high school though, so I pushed through it - dancing on a torn labrum the next seven months and scheduling my surgery for the day after graduation. I had applied to college with a biology major and the intention of entering the healthcare field and was the healing process of this injury that reinforced this choice as well narrowed down the career I wanted to pursue. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I am now going to be pursuing my doctorate in physical therapy. What excites me most about my education is the end goal - being able to help young people like myself in their rehabilitation journey. This same injury is also what inspired my healthy living style throughout college. I entered my freshman year at UConn - a giant campus with tons of hills and lots of walking- 3 months post-op and having just got off of crutches a few weeks ago. I was determined to get stronger. I started going to the gym and fell in love. The gym became my safe space. I would go when I was stressed, when I wanted a pick-me-up, or when I just wanted to block out the rest of the world. I soon developed a routine and got my strength back, and then some. I was able to do the unthinkable during my junior year (would have been sophomore year if not for the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down campus and not allowing sports to run for a year) and return to dance as a member of UConn’s kickline team. Through lifting and dance, I was able to maintain a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally throughout college. Post- graduation I still keep up my lifting regimen, to an even higher caliber as I am now considering entering a bodybuilding competition (the performer in me really wants to be on stage again). Working out is a major part of my life, and I am so beyond excited that I get to implement it into my career as well, using exercise to aid in recovery.