As some love stories go, my own begins at an atypical time and in an atypical way. A beautiful symphony of unmitigated chance and bountiful opportunity.

Five months into my first year of physical therapy school, a chance email from my professor started a soon-to-be momentous cascade.

As a newly-minted graduate student, I had been introduced to state advocacy in my state of North Carolina and was able to sit in a North Carolina Physical Therapy Association district meeting, thanks to my faculty's involvement, but my concept of professional advocacy was uncharismatic at best and my personal "why" was in its beginning stages.