Theme 2
Illustrate leadership with stakeholders in an inclusive, collaborative, and socially responsible manner
Throughout my time in the program, I had plenty of opportunities to volunteer and attempt to have a positive impact on my community. Opportunities like the Here to Help Clinic, the youth football experience, Zeno Mt. Farm and Green Up day allowed me to directly improve both the individuals and the environment of my community directly. These experiences allowed me to demonstrate my leadership by acting as a role model in terms of social responsibility I have to my community.
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These experiences addressed the following graduate outcomes:
2: Great leaders put the needs of others ahead of their own. This collection of experiences allowed me to have a positive impact on members of my community and the environment that we share. I will continue to take the opportunity to act in leadership roles in community engagement experiences to model the social responsibility that physical therapists should demonstrate.
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5: Even in situations where typical physical therapy care doesn’t seem to apply, we can offer our services to improve the health and well-being of society by volunteering for other causes including helping clean up the environment. For example, keeping our environment clean has a direct impact on the health of community members in that environment. Supporting programs like local youth football programs and inclusive programs like Zeno Mt. Farm promote health and well-being of all members of our society, which in turn leads to better long-term health outcomes.
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10: All of these activities demonstrate the social responsibility that I have and will continue to have towards my community. I will continue to engage in similar activities that have a positive impact on my community and environment.
The Where to Wheel project was an amazing opportunity to both experience the perspective of using a wheelchair in the community and be an advocate for improving ADA compliance. It is sometimes difficult to see what is truly accessible and what isn't when I'm not in a wheelchair all the time. This experience opened my eyes to see how truly inaccessible our community is. Things you wouldn't even consider like table heights, bathroom doorways and inclines of sidewalks all pose a challenge to people who use wheelchairs. This experience helped me realize all the considerations that must be made to truly make something accessible.
This experience addressed the following graduate outcomes:
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5: This experience helped advocate for greater accessibility of our community. Greater accessibility means that all people are able to be more active in their environment, and as more people become active, the overall functioning and well-being of our society improves.
8: Our role in experiences like this can not stop at just experiencing what inaccessible buildings and community areas are like. We must take it to the next step and educate peers, patients and the community in order to push for greater accessibility of these locations and resources. This experience allowed me to educate community members and peers on why a location was inaccessible, and what can be done to make it accessible.
10: This activity also allowed me to demonstrate my social responsibility to all members of my community, especially those who are at a disadvantage due to the inaccessible nature of the environment. Gaining this insight and practicing advocacy skills that I can use for the rest of my life will help make the world a more accessible place.