A Dream Come True by Ali

A Dream Come True by Ali - August 2020 Scholarship Essay

As kids, we grow up with high dreams and aspirations with what we want to be when we are older. We dream of being an astronaut travelling to space, the president of our country or a doctor who saves the lives of millions. For me, I always felt a calling for being in the medical field. I knew being a doctor was not in sight, as I am very afraid of needles, but that there were other ways I could fulfill my driving passion to impact other's health.

During my undergraduate, I was not sure what career path was best for me, but I was sure it needed to involve my passion for a healthy lifestyle and helping others. As a student athlete I had faced several physical barriers in the past and during my early college career. Through personal experiences with physical therapists, I realized the rehabilitation field aligned with my passions and would give me an opportunity to provide encouragement, intentional actions, and create positive experiences for others related to their health. Becoming a physical therapist and helping others to improve their daily lives and overcome their challenges is my ultimate dream.

My dream physical therapy program would compromise all the things I value in the profession and the components that would prepare me for my greatest future success. A program that values service in the community, has a medium size student class that encourages cooperate group work and offers diverse clinical experiences is vital.

Active involvement in the community is important to me, as well as an indicator of my strong sense of commitment to creating an impact on others’ lives. As physical therapists are committed to improving their patient’s physical impairments, it is important that they value others in the community. Service should be prioritized as these professionals learn to form relationships with others who are struggling and create as comfortable and positive of an atmosphere for others. One thing I love most about the field of physical therapy is that there is no judgement on who is being treated but rather the focus is solely on seeing the patient as a human and wanting the best for them regardless of their life situations.

A medium size student class is in my dream plan for a future program because I believe it gives students the greatest chance to succeed through collaboration. The smaller student-to-faculty ratio is something that I valued in my undergraduate experience, as I excelled in this environment, academically and professionally, with the opportunities to make personal connections with faculty and students in my major. This will allow for greater networking opportunities and for students, like myself, to feel comfortable reaching out to faculty and having personal connections with them. Working in teams is also very important because in the future, we will be working with other therapists, aides, physicians and the patient and their families. Building that strong foundation and communication skills with an ability to lead and be a good follower will be crucial to success in the professional field.

Hands on training from the beginning along with four integrated clinical rotations of full-time clinical training is an essential characteristic that I hope to find in my dream program. Being put in the actual work environment and visually and physically putting the knowledge base into practice is so important! I am a kinesthetic learner and I know that having real-life practice during my learning phases of becoming a PT will be essential to enhancing my learning.

I wanted to keep my dream aspirations realistic and applicable to what I really want in my future program. The program where I will find my niche in healthcare and a way to create an everlasting impact on others lives in my own way. My respect and admiration for specialists within the rehabilitation field has grown and I have formed a mindset that I could excel in pursuing physical therapy, as my means to make an impact on people's lives. A profession that may not be every little kids’ initial dream but a dream that the little girl I once was, set her mindset toward.