My Career Path

5. The Callos Companies is an organization that is linked with various companies to provide a broad range of human resources to businesses.

Growing up I always knew I wanted something more than just a “job”. I wanted a career that would be rewarding and encompass a combination of my talents and interests. As a child, I dreamed of being a doctor, mechanical engineer, nurse, dental hygienist, and teacher. It was not until my freshman year of college that I took a good look at career choices. After hearing about occupational therapy, I did a great deal of research to find out what it was, what the therapists did, who they worked with, and the influence they had on the lives of others. As I continued through my college experience, occupational therapy always remained at the top of my list of possible careers. I began to see that it was a perfect combination of all the things I wanted to be when I grew up. I could work as a healthcare professional, help people in need, problem solve, and bring light and hope into people’s lives. Observing several different occupational therapists has confirmed that this is the career for me.

As my high school career comes to an end, I am about to take the first step into the next stage of my life. My fellow classmates and I have been asked for many years, "What do you want to study in college?" and "What career would you like to pursue?" Also for many years, we have been asking some equally as difficult questions: "Why are we learning this?" or "When are we ever going to use this in the real world?" After a lot of consideration, I have decided to study to become a physical therapist (PT), and I have realized the importance of the seemingly "useless" information that I have learned during my time at EHS.

When I first attended Lindenwood University and I had no idea on where I wanted to go with my life. All I knew is that I would not be stuck behind a desk for eight hours a day and that I wanted to work with people. For a while I thought I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be an influencing part in someone’s life, but it didn’t take me long to realize that teaching was not what I was being called to do. I had a very strong passion to help people, so I started working towards a degree in Exercise Science with the idea that I could do something with the rising obesity issues, but it still didn’t feel right. I started meeting with my advisor, Heather Pennington, who helped me start looking around for different options. She strongly encouraged me to try out different facilities, including several Occupational Therapy environments. I didn’t have a particular “aha” moment where I decided that Occupational Therapy was right for me, but the various experiences showed me what my potential future career path could be.

During my sophomore in high school at Wausau East, my parents told me that in a couple years, I was going to college and I needed to start thinking about what I want to do for a living. I knew right away that it was going to be something dealing with healthcare, but what specifically, I did not know. There was, however, a class titled Young Adult Medicine that was all about exploring occupations in the healthcare field and it lit a fire beneath my big decision. On one of the tours and job shadows that my classmates and I went on, this one in particular was to the Sport and Spine Clinic in Wausau. Every second we got to witness just a sneak peek of what a physical therapist job is like, the more I was intrigued by it and I began to ask myself

“So, do you know what you are doing yet after graduation?” This is a notorious question everybody gets asked at one point in their lifetime. Most people do not know the answer to this question, for there is a very broad range of things to do. I have known ever since I was little that I wanted to go to college for something along the lines of medical science, or health science. I just was not sure for what job exactly. It was not until this previous summer when it hit me that I wanted to become a physical therapist. One day my mother and I went to Vantage Physical Therapy because she had an appointment for her foot. As soon as I walked into the building, I looked around and was just blown away by the facility. There were tons of enjoyable, genial people everywhere. During the appointment, I had paid close attention to everything the therapist had done and was incredibly intrigued. Not to mention, I love anything that has to deal with science, the human body, and health. While I was observing at the appointment, everything piqued my interest. To give an illustration, the therapist had me help tape people’s legs and my mother’s foot. I immediately fell in love with physical therapy. When I had gotten home, I quickly ran to the computer to scrutinize the requirements such as education, degrees, licenses, background information, just about everything. I knew it was the job for me! Now when people ask me that renowned question I can finally answer, “Why yes, yes I do!”

Throughout high school and half of my college career, I believed that I was going to be a physical therapist. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges this profession presented, as well as the sincere interactions with people and commitment to their health. However,

My career advancement includes five (5) years of growth at The Polo Club in Boca Raton, Florida. I am fortunate to have an amazing experience as the Director of Food and Beverage and advancement to the position of Assistant Club Manager. As an Assistant General Manager, I assisted the team in the careful administration of asset management with direct oversight for club operations and financial leadership; Food and Beverage, Social and Cultural Arts, Clubhouse-Common Area, Administrative, Golf, Tennis and Spa. I implemented a detailed payroll budget program including procedures and benchmarks utilized by all department supervisors increasing payroll control with a payroll budget of $18M and an operating/capital expenditure budget of $50M.

When first starting my undergraduate studies at Saint Francis University, my intentions were originally to get a doctorate in physical therapy with a bachelors in exercise physiology because I thought exercise physiology would complement it well. During my junior year I started to grow a passion for exercise physiology that only grew stronger through the rest of my undergraduate studies. By the time I finished my upper level courses of my undergraduate program I began to realize that I was no longer as interested in physical therapy as much as I once was. I took a few weeks and really reflected on what I truly wanted to do without worrying about what other people think or how much money would be made compared to other jobs. During this reflecting period I discovered several things: I was letting my parents’ guide my life and wasn’t making career choices on what would make me truly happy, the experiences I have had with training individuals and helping them live a healthier life made me truly happy, working in clinical settings and in the lab at Saint Francis University never felt like work and was always enjoyable, Whatever I decide to do I want to be helping people, and that I had a deep connection to individuals with cancer.

I love checking boxes and reaching milestones. Whether I am training for a triathlon or studying for an exam, I am most successful getting to the finish line one carefully planned step at a time. Accomplishing something for which I have worked hard motivates me, but being able to come alongside someone else and help that person to achieve a goal of their own is even more gratifying and energizing. My ability to encourage others while challenging them to use discipline and hard work make me well suited for a career in physical therapy where I will assist patients in reaching their goals on a daily basis. I hope to be a therapist who is able to help my patients to gain perspective so that they might progress through recovery effectively with hope and

As a college student, I constantly ask myself “If the career I am aiming for is truly for me”; however, I only ask myself this question, because I am afraid of the unknown, “Fear happens when we feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible situation or event—in other words, something that hasn’t even happened yet”(Mycoskie 50). For those of you who do not know, I chose my career path based off a random conversation I had with a total stranger at a frozen yogurt parlor. Through her words and positivity, this stranger had inspired me to become a physical therapist in the near future. When I think about my future as a physical therapist I get overwhelmed with excitement, because I think about the difference I will be able to make in others life,

Every little kid has their mind set on a fantasy of the life they wish to live when they grow up. The dreams can stretch as far as being a professional athlete to being an astronaut. When we grow up, we are forced to face reality and evaluate reasonable career choices and relevate them to the interests we have. As the time comes for me to choose which career I plan to pursue, I am drawn to the idea of physical therapy due to my growing passion to help those in need and my fascination with the anatomic structure.

As my senior year approaches, I think about how I got to this point in my life; deciding on college to apply to and starting my life on my own. It’s kind of scary thinking about being on my own with no one to depend on but me. Knowing that I have to make every decision myself is liberating but also very intimidating. Growing up for me was different then some others because of the fact that I was born with Sickle Cell Disease, but having that has not stopped me from reaching my goals and dreams. I want to become a physical therapist because I don’t only want to help people regain mobility, but I also want to help them know that our bodies are something special and I want them to know emotionally and mentally that they can get through the rough

There was no enlightening moment or epiphany that led me to believe I was destined to be a physical therapist. Instead, it was a combination of small significant occurrences that slowly proved I was intended to practice physical medicine. My initial interest in the human body occurred in my sports medicine class during my sophomore year of high school. I fell in love with learning about the wonders of the human body and I effortlessly excelled with the material. Due to my passion and interest in sports medicine, I realized I should pursue a profession in medicine. I explored the idea of a career in physical therapy by job shadowing at the Idaho Sports Medicine Institute. After observing the physical therapists, I was immediately drawn to a

For the past five years, I have had my heart set on doing nothing but pursuing my life-long dream of graduating high school, going to college, and getting a good education so I could become a physical therapist. Unfortunately, now that I have reached this stage in my life, I am not so certain about my intentions. Recently I have thought about the possibility of obtaining different careers, and that physical therapy may not be the best option for my personality type. As I near the time to make a living for myself, I struggle with finding what the best job is for me to have when considering my skills, personality, and desires.