Injuries and a medical Occupations vocational program helped me decide on my future career by Zachary

Injuries and a medical Occupations vocational program helped me decide on my future career by Zachary - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

As my bat connected with the ball and sent it into deep center field, I felt the profound impact of physical therapy on my life and knew I had found my calling. I was anxious about my first time hitting in a game after spraining my left shoulder. I hadn’t been able to play for over 6 weeks and my last time at the plate had been painful and disastrous. My physical therapist was confident that I would recover if I followed orders to stop playing, do targeted exercises, and receive treatments. She was right. I felt just as strong and capable as I had before my injury.
As a high school senior close to graduation, I felt even more confident that I had chosen the right college major. When I researched and reflected on a major and future career, I knew I would like to pair my love of athletics and the medical field, but I wasn’t sure how. Near the end of my sophomore year, one of my baseball teammates tore his ACL and was working with a physical therapist. I was very intrigued to learn more about the healing process that this teammate would go through to recover from his injury. I began a research quest to learn more about what the healing process would entail and if it would be possible for him to return to the same level of athleticism (having no idea I would take a similar path a year later with a shoulder injury).
Around the time my teammate was dealing with a torn ACL, I was registering for classes for the next academic school year. My high school offers a two-year vocational program called Medical Occupations that I thought was specifically for students interested in a nursing career. My academic advisor recommended its consideration when we met, as this program is geared toward students with interest in any medical field. At the end of that two-year program, I was chosen by my instructors as “Student of the Program.” I learned so much and gained invaluable insights and experience about the medical field, my patients, and myself. I am now certified in CPR and American Heart Association first aid. I also have certifications in OSHA requirements and phlebotomy. I passed the state exam for my CNA certification. I completed over 70 hours of on-site training in care facilities where I gained experience working with patients diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This clinical experience also helped me develop an understanding of the needs of the elderly population. All of this served to cement my desire to work within the field of healthcare. Helping athletes recover from injuries, promoting healing and mobility, and hopefully getting them back to doing what they love excites me. I may widen the scope of my interest, however, to work with athletes and elderly patients. I still have many years of schooling ahead of me to make those final decisions.
In addition, I am passionate about volunteering and have spent hundreds of hours doing charitable activities. My high school program also encouraged volunteer work in the medical field. Once I have completed my graduate degree and am licensed to treat patients, I plan to volunteer my services in low-income communities where services cannot be afforded or may not be available. I spent time volunteering in a school in Guatemala and I would love to return on a health services mission trip someday.
The career dream that I am working toward is driven from my love of sports, watching my teammate recover from an injury restricting movement before experiencing one myself a year later, and the education and experience that I received during my two-year Medical Occupations program. I do believe that as a physical therapist I can significantly help reduce pain and increase flexibility and mobility, increasing life satisfaction. My career dream is to promote healing and mobility for those patients who have experienced a decline in physical function and movement. Improving quality of life through my work as a physical therapist will have a huge positive impact on those that I treat and fulfill my sense of purpose.