MohaveWire

Students in Mohave Community College’s physical therapist assistant (PTA) program took advantage of the learning opportunities while joining 8,000 field professionals at the recent national conference of the American Physical Therapy Association in Las Vegas.

The 13 MCC students were joined by program faculty during their three-day visit, where they were given assignments for each day: to attend a specified number of lectures, find nationally recognized physical therapist assistants and APTA staff and introduce themselves, to attend the PTA Caucus Town Hall meeting, and to attend the Student Assembly meet and greet. The MCC Foundation also sponsored a dinner for the professionals who came to network with the MCC students.

“The seven prominent physical therapy professionals who met with the students said the dinner was the highlight of their conference,” Schnabl said. “They and others at the conference were impressed by the MCC students and their commitment to lifelong learning, their professional dress - as all students wore their MCC program shirts - and their level of enthusiasm toward the field of physical therapy.

“My favorite moment of the conference was watching three of the PTA students introduce themselves to Scott Ward, the president of the APTA,” she said. “That was truly a moving moment for me. He was very interested in meeting them and they represented MCC very professionally.”

All of the students worked on fund-raiser events to enable them to attend the national conference, Schnabl said.

“The students decided that either they would raise enough money so all members of the class could attend or none of them would go,” she said. “To show how dedicated the students are to the profession, they raised enough to pay the way for the entire class to go.”

For more information on MCC’s physical therapist assistant program, contact Schnabl at (928) 505-3347 or by e-mail at rschnabl@mohave.edu.

Cutline:

Those taking part in the MCC Foundation dinner at the national conference of the American Physical Therapy Association in Las Vegas were, from left: front row: students Matt Noake, Leigh McDonald, Debra Fuller and Heidi Corrie; row two: Carrie Perkins, a PTA and MCC PTA faculty member who organized the dinner, Doug Wilson, DPT and PTA program director at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo.; student Lauren Amell, Kevin Hulsey, a DPT and member of the APTA Board of Directors, and student Catherine Lucero; row three: Rhonda Schnabl, MPT and program director for the MCC PTA program, Debbie Bornmann, PTA and chief delegate nominee, student Gina Arteaga, John Linberger, PTA and MS chief delegate, Russell Stowers, PTA, PhD and PTA caucus delegate, and student Ali Webb; row four: student Trey Salem, Luis Williams, PTA and California PTA caucus delegate, student Brett Novak, Janet Crosier, PT, MS and APTA director of professional development and academic/clinical education affairs, and students Michelle White and Jill Cone. Not pictured is student Alison Abbott.