Getting a doctorate was never part of my original career vision because when I graduated with a bachelor's degree, it was not an option. I always felt that any doctorate would take the form of a PhD and I was more interested in clinical practice. As industry standards evolved, I felt that a DPT would allow me to compete in the job market and also make me feel more confident in clinical practice as direct access came into play.

I first learned of the concept of a postprofessional DPT program from a colleague who was enrolled with another university. This prompted me to investigate further and, after comparing multiple programs, ATSU stood out. The program's vision for the profession, inclusiveness, and focus on clinical practice really made ATSU the right fit for me.

My parents were very supportive of my decision to pursue my DPT and provided me with a loan to cover tuition so that I would not have to pay interest. This meant the world to me because it allowed me to focus on my job at the time and my studies without the added financial stress.

While the investment was not small, it was significantly less than other programs, and offered what I felt was a more comprehensive program. With the changes occurring in the profession at the time, I was confident that the financial investment would be worth it for me in the long term.

Prior to earning my DPT I worked at a location that had two other PTs with bachelor's degrees like me and one other PT with a master's degree. As I worked through the program, I realized how much it elevated my clinical practice in terms of differential diagnosis, clinical reasoning, and interpretation of research. This enabled me to elevate the level of care that I was providing and also inspired me to develop in-services for my colleagues.

I did not know what to expect when beginning the program because online learning was a relatively new concept at the time (I graduated in 2009), and I had never done anything similar. The process was very smooth and easy to integrate.

In general, I was most looking forward to expanding my knowledge in multiple areas. At the time that I enrolled in the program, I was living on a small island in the Pacific. I was excited and felt very fortunate to be able to complete the program entirely online at my own pace. If not for this flexible online program, I would have had to move and incur many more expenses to be able to participate in an in-person program.

Once I began the program, I realized the breadth of the program and how this could contribute to my daily practice as well as my desire to teach and contribute to educating physical therapists.