The Physical Therapy Club (PT Club) at Kean University was established to help guide students aspiring to pursue careers in physical therapy.
The current executive board for the 2018-2019 school year for the PT Club includes: Carla Magdangal as president, Ashanti Lyking as vice president, Stephanie Murillo as secretary and Delano Smalls as treasurer.
A main focus of the club is to help students hoping to get into graduate study programs in physical therapy. PT Club accomplishes this by inviting practicing physical therapists, physical therapy graduate students and physical therapy admission representatives to hold presentations for club members. In general body meetings, PT Club also helps to develop physical therapy majors' understanding and interest for the subject by teaching club members about the conditions, injuries, and diseases treated through physical therapy. Because of club members' united goal and interests, students are able to network with their future peers, coworkers and mentors. The connections the students make in PT Club will be beneficial to them for their clinical observations and job search in the future.
PT club also attempts to reach out to nonmember students within Kean by holding fundraisers, informational tables and club-to-club collaborations. For instance, PT Club partners with other clubs on Health and Wellness Day to promote healthy living tips and tricks. PT Club also arranges volleyball and basketball tournaments as fundraisers to encourage students to partake in fitness in a fun way. PT Club holds fundraisers with the intention of donating to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
MDA is an organization that focuses on research for neuromuscular diseases to help cure or treat them. Neuromuscular diseases affect the nerves that control voluntary muscle movements causing people's muscles to weaken and deteriorate from lack of use. The effects on one's muscles may also cause them pain and complications in a variety of body functions such as breathing. MDA supports research on a wide variety of neuromuscular diseases such as amyotophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) and more. Diseases such as these can sometimes be partly helped through physical therapy.
It is this concern for patients and the potential to help them that pushed President Magdangal to become a physical therapy major. PT Club then helped her to continue to develop and strengthen her conviction for the career.
Magdangal said, "We are fortunate to be a part of MDA's wonderful effort in helping individuals with muscle dystrophy, ALS and other related muscle-debilitating diseases. As aspiring physical therapists, it is important to envision the impact of our future career. Not only do we want our members to strive as successful physical therapists, but also to open their eyes on how much they can change a person's life with this career. We encourage our members to volunteer at the MDA Camp every summer. It is a life changing experience to be a part of a cause that brings joy to children with muscle-debilitating diseases."
Come join Physical Therapy Club on Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Bruce Hall, Room 109 to see how physical therapy changes lives.
For questions or more information, contact ptc@kean.edu.
