Chapman’s Pre-Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy club supports a passionate community of healers
Graphic Courtesy of Abby Borlovan
“Funny story, but I got run over by a car when I was six years old, and I was in and out of hospitals for so long,” said Abby Borlovan, a graduating junior health science major and the vice president of Chapman’s Pre-Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.
People get hurt every day. Each and every injury takes its own unique, often rigorous process to heal. In Chapman’s Pre-Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy (Pre-PT/OT) club, that healing process brings people together to form a community passionate about learning its ins and outs.
“Just seeing how passionate the PTs were with me and how they catered exercises specifically for me, they cared so much,” said Borlovan. “I really just want to be able to now take my passion that I've developed for people and the human body, and (combine) both the art and the science of physical therapy to continue to help my community with something that I'm passionate about.”
Beyond Borlovan’s car injuries, Nicolas Ross, a junior health science major and the club’s president, and Livia Jadwin, a senior health science major and the club’s treasurer, shared similar stories. They described how sustaining injuries as a competitive dancer and swimmer, respectively, solidified their passions for physical therapy.
“When you get injured, a PT (physical therapist) is probably who you go to, like after you get a surgery done. After you go to the hospital, the PT is kind of your recovery stage,” said Borlovan. “It's like your rehab. It’ll strengthen different parts of your body that you didn't know needed strengthening. It'll heal up and it'll prevent injuries in the future. A lot of people think you need to go there because you have something wrong, like you tore an ACL — but a lot of times there's different things you can incorporate into your life to prevent injuries that people don't really know about.”
Sharing that knowledge and experience is what the Pre-PT/OT club is all about. Physical therapy focuses on the body’s range of motion and how its biomechanics can be fixed or enhanced, whereas occupational therapy focuses on the overall performance of daily living — and both require intensive study.
“Our main mission is really to build connections with one another, and the club is really geared at assisting the underclassmen (in finding) their way through this program,” Ross told The Panther. “You really need all the help and guidance that you can get when you're trying to figure out all this stuff. Honestly, I still need guidance, too. Our club's mission is making connections, networking and getting people exposed to all these different programs and helping them figure out where they're headed.”
To build connections and create a platform for people to collaborate and share their experiences, the club brings in several guest speakers to speak on their time in different programs and fields. Last month, the club brought in Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences assistant professor and doctor of physical therapy James Herkimer to speak about his experiences and journey. As the year progresses, they plan to bring in more speakers and arrange student Q&A sessions.
“I think the most special part is the community base that we're (built on),” said Jadwin. “We can all come together and share the different experiences and the different advice we have and learn from each other, helping each other reach each other's goals through whatever path that is.”
Those paths could include going to physical therapy schools and pursuing a doctorate-level education in the profession, or pursuing it as a career at any level. But for those unsure of their path forward into the world of physical therapy training, Pre-PT/OT club is there to help and offer mentorship.
“Everyone has so much knowledge and such different experiences from either interning or shadowing, or just different experiences from their different majors and minors,” Borlovan told The Panther. “And we come together to be mentors for each other and help each of us succeed through our different passions. That’s what really makes this club so nice.”
Pre-PT/OT club is open to all majors. Anyone is welcome and encouraged to join — the only requirement is interest. Many who attended their first meetings of the semester came from non-health science or adjacent majors. That interest can come from anywhere, anytime, but it’s what brings the club together.
“Why PT? I just want to help people help themselves,” Ross said. He and the rest of the club’s leadership hope that others feel the same, and encourage those that do to join them.
To learn about Pre-PT/OT club’s upcoming events and guest speakers, check out their Instagram page.