Nadia Wyrsta, is a candidate for secretary on the Student Assembly Board of Directors.
After my first encounter with APTA and Student Assembly relations at CSM 2013 in Chicago I was fired up with passion. I, along with another first-year DPT student, embarked on this journey and learned that all moments of our career can't take place sitting at a desk all day, but rather transpire with involvement. I entered my first Student Assembly Caucus in Chicago and it was the instigation of my passion and pride to get involved! I was driven by students I encountered at CSM that upon leaving I said to myself, "Nadia, you need to be involved!" I knew I wanted to come back to school and carry my enthusiasm with me and seek opportunities.
The experiences we embark on make us who we are today and tomorrow. We learn and grow from others by their actions, inspirations, and novel ideas. As Steve Jobs once said, "The only way to do great work is to love the work you do." I intend to run for a position with purposefulness, perseverance, and hard-working demeanor. I want my voice to be a collaboration of voices among all PT students and share my enthusiasm in the hopes that it will ignite passion in others. My passion is to support and help students across the country realize what their potential is and have their love of PT shine.
If elected, I would like to expand interprofessional collaboration among all health care professionals and educate them about physical therapy. I had the opportunity to do a rotation this past year at a hospital and was shocked when a health care professional blatantly stated, "What is PT? What do you guys do?" The comment sent chills down my spine, for we are an integral part to health and wellness and we need to spread the word of what we do! Student loan repayment is another topic that has been widely addressed this year, and I would like to continue on this project. I want to increase education and awareness for students regarding all legislative issues that affect us in student-friendly language.
My vision is to continue with the dramatic changes this year's Student Assembly Board of Directors has accomplished. The positive communication changes this past year have been tremendous. The Student Assembly will continue to be a solid, committed community guiding other students, engaging in learning to benefit the physical therapy profession and to be a vigorous constituent to students. We are the future, aspiring to see the profession flourish, and I would be honored to have the opportunity to be one of the progressing student voices.
Thank you for your time and consideration.