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I just want to take a moment to write this as a close to my time as an officer/member of the society.

I didn't have many friends here at UTSA, and I would always go home every weekend because I felt lonely. Joining the society has introduced me to my closest friends, through co-officers, intramurals, socials, and general meetings.

I have had such a great senior year here at UTSA, and being a leader and guiding members with workshops and information about PT school has been the most rewarding feeling I've ever felt. I will always hold the feedback I have been given after my workshops and all the thanks and appreciation members have given me throughout this year close to my heart.
This last workshop I had I have never felt more proud of the members participation and engagement as we prepared for interview questions. I saw members confidence boost and how they took my feedback and criticism positively and as a chance for learning and growth.

It almost feels like full circle. I started as a someone who was shy and timid, became more active and involved, ran for officer, became an officer, got into PT school, and now I hand over my position feeling more proud than ever of watching members grow and become more confident in themselves.

This society is amazing. I am leaving bittersweet as the new officers will takeover and do an amazing job and how this stage of my life has come to a close.
New beginnings are coming for me and as much as I hate to leave this society I know things come to an end and we move on.

Please utilize the society. It is a place for self discovery, growth, learning, and confidence. It was my community that helped me cherish and value my time here at UTSA.  I hope this organization impacts others the same way it has for me.

All I want for everyone is to get into PT school!! I will be cheering everyone on as ya'll go through your undergrad and your PT school years, and I wish everyone the best : )) . Remember I am always here for you all and no matter how much time has passed you can always reach out to me.

I love you all so much

signing off as your 2022- 2023 liaison,

Margaret : ))

p.s this was the first time i spelt liaison correctly :')

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I really want to take the time and thank this organization that I joined since my freshmen year. Each year I played indoor and outdoor soccer and they are always the best people to play with. Truly going to miss this community.

I’m currently interning at a pediatric clinic and never would I see myself in this setting and actually thinking about making it my part time specialty.

Everyone have a good week !

- Ivonne Santos

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Hey everyone! The semester is almost over and I am excited for this summer! Two of my best friends are graduating this semester so they will both be returning to San Antonio for the summer. I talk to them every day so it will be great to finally see them both in person again.
Also, I got to meet up with one of my oldest friends this past week. I haven't seen him since pre-covid. He works for the Air Force in Germany and came home this week for his birthday. We went to see the Mario movie and spent almost 3 hours catching up at a restaurant (I think the waitress wanted us to leave lol).
Watching my friends achieve their goals and do extremely well in life motivates me to work harder and continue pursuing my goals, no matter how hard life gets. We all had it hard growing up, so I am proud of how far we have come!

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Hello,
Easter weekend was fun to spend with family. Went fishing which was relaxing, but looking into this week, there are a lot of events. Other than exams, elections for the PT club are happening this Tuesday which is a little nerve racking to say the least. Just hope my mind doesn't go blank while I'm presenting! Other than that, I am starting to prepare for finals, and I am ready for it to be done! I'm also hoping the weather this week is nice and not all cold and rainy.

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Hey everybody, hope y'all doing well! This past week has been quite chill, which I very much took advantage of. It's crazy to think a year from now, I will be graduating. That's just one of the things I was reflecting on this past week since registration is coming up for me. Hopefully I can get the classes I want and don't have to change anything last second. I have one exam this week which I'm kind of nervous because it's the only course that sometimes doesn't keep me engaged enough to study. Other than that, I have another chill week ahead of me and then I have some exams and quizzes coming up. I hope all of y'all have a great easter and see y'all for our last meeting this week!

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Latina, lujosa, y llena de abundancia
(my affirmations of today)

-Andrea Solis

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Mannn this whole semester has passed on so fast!!!!
It’s surreal how fast time flies when you’re working on yourself and staying consistent with the grind. I feel like a completely different person compared to my freshman year (currently a Junior) switching from always partying and forgetting things to attending events for professional development and networking.
I’m feeling highly blessed to have travelled over here from my home city not knowing anyone. For sure I can say that San Antonio gave me the opportunities I knew I wasn’t going to find anywhere else. The friends that I have made along the way and the ones who went ghost, I wanna thank.

Without these experiences I wouldn’t be who or where I’m at right now. Thanks to everyone who formed a part of my mini journey 🫶🏼

-Andrea Solis

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Hello,

Long time since I have posted on here... BUT senioritis has definitely kicked in full swing... I only go to campus twice a week which is very nice.  I feel like I am in a slump with my life right now in this "waiting period" that seems to feel like it will never end.

I am preparing for a lot of change. Graduating from UTSA still seems unreal, I can't process how fast it went by (I was robbed 2 years from COVID). I am preparing to hand my officer position over to the next candidate and I didn't think it would be this bittersweet to leave the society but it is!

I have met some of the best people through the society and it did give me a family and community to lean on! Joining the society has helped me so much with getting into my dream PT schools and improve my leadership skills. It will be the end of an era for sure. I am forever grateful for everything this place has given me.

I am ready to begin my PT school curriculum and start my journey for my career!! I just feel as if the moment is so far away!! But I know I need to appreciate my down time now, and take time to relax and do things I enjoy!

I have been hanging out with friends and family and just really spending some alone time! I have some concerts coming up!! (Taylor Swift and Kilby Block party an alternative indie music festival in Utah) I also have taken an interest in fishing ! And I have been working out very consistently!!

Life may feel slow right now but I am for sure enjoying the time I have right now!!

- Margaret

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Hii everyone, this semester has been flying by and lately been overwhelmed that i'm not doing what I need to do in order to be a competitive applicant for PT school. My registration opened up today and realized I have to double up on my sciences in order to graduate at a decent time. I might have to push back and it is a really hard pill to swallow for me because I did not want to be working on my undergrad for over than the 4 years, but I mean as long as I get it done and finish strong that is all that should matter to better prepare me right? giving me more time to get shadowing hours in and community service to better devolop my application. At least that is a positive from looking at it that way. I appreciate everything this society has to offer. Finish this last month strong everyone <33

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The last workshop this week got me shookth. We spoke about the 14 things we should start doing now if we want to get into PT school. It really shocked me how long the application process is between when you submit your PTCAS till you hear back from them.
I feel like now I have 1/2 the time I originally thought I was going to have. I have a bunch of pre requisite classes left, more observational hours to complete, not enough certifications, etc.. On paper I don't know if any school is going to want me in their DPT program.
This means that I have to bust balls my last academic year here at UTSA trying to manage 3 UTSA courses, community college courses, work, observational hours, volunteer hours, social time, and till find time to study. Then I still have a year gap to work my ass off cause by that time my dad will not be able to help me with my educational funds.
It was a stress overload that made me enter a fight or flight mode.
After talking this out to myself and my mom ( my greatest support system), I've realized it was time to stay hungry and continuously invest into myself. I need to tackle this like a meat cake: by taking small bites. ( sorry to overshare, but I was just feeling the inspiration : ))

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This is my first time doing one of these lol a little late but heyyy,
this week has honestly gone by fast and i couldnt be happier, like its already april 2nd ?!  i am ready to go home for the summer, ready for the semester to be over !
Earlier this week I emailed my a&p prof about my exam grade looking a lil off because he gave us the answer key so i went threw it myself.. so obviously i was suppose to get a better grade but tell me why I have circled one answer on my test booklet and a different answer on the parscore for like 5 questions 🥲 I have no idea how i even managed that but I did, now i know to go over it and make sure i have the right answers marked down.
This is your sign to make sure you go over your test no matter how bad youre over it :)
Other than that, my week wasnt too bad

🫶🏼
Karina M.

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Last week was my most accomplished week of the semester so far. I had an interview for a PT tech job and was so nervous for it. Although I did get the job, which I'm very happy about, I did realize I still need to work on my interview skills just a tad bit. I had three exams last week, and got an A on all three of them which I'm super proud of. I was also offered to do a research for one of the professors which I am very much considering doing it, depending on my busy schedule with work and school next semester. This week is a catch up type of week in a sense that I don't got any important exams or quizzes. I can just relax a bit and get ready for the following week. Other than that, I am very excited on where I am heading for the rest of the year.

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Bit of a short and sweet post of something on my mind for this week before the restart tomorrow. I recently have rekindled my love for wrestling over the past year or so and have enjoyed the holy heck out of it lately! I follow mostly WWE and kind of loosely follow AEW but the storylines in them have been absolutely incredible. I fell off of wrestling hard by the time I hit middle school mostly because it just wasn’t popular amongst us kids and you were always made fun of if you liked it because it was “fake” so I just left it altogether but still followed some big things here and there over the years. Moral of this little message though is to never let anybody tell you what you can and can’t like! Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder! Anyways I hope y’all’s weekend has been dope, if anybody ever wants to talk some wrestling, I’m always down!

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Something I did this weekend was take a trip to Fort Worth and toured the UNT health science center to see if I would like to go there. Taking tours is something I highly recommend if you’re able. For me online pictures can’t really do a place justice and I have to set foot on a campus and be around the people to see if it might be a good fit for me. And from what I saw and heard there from the students I can say I am definitely considering it. It can also be nerve racking for sure but I hope everyone is doing as best as they can on this pt journey- we’ll end up where we’re meant to be
-Lauren c :)

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I’ll use this post as a quick study tool bc I have my forearm and wrist exam coming up that I am not ready for but I do know the carpal bones! so here they are:
Scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform,
Trapezius, trapezoid, capitate and hamate
-Lauren c :)

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I have a very important exam tomorrow, I admit I am a tad nervous about! Oh please with me luck. These exams are not easy and I pray I do well, I truly need it. I do wonder sometimes if I am capable of being a physical therapist, because of the pressure and the back breaking amount of school work. I love helping people so much it's remembering how amazing it feels to watch someone heal that keeps me pushing not to give up. I am curious, tell me, what are the things that keep you focused on becoming a physical therapist when things get hard?

Love to you all and good luck! xx

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Spring break was much needed for me because I was burned out just before the break. I had a great start this past week! I did some reading, studying, and I just felt motivated overall. I also did pretty well on my musculoskeletal anatomy exam!

Things took a bad turn on Tuesday though. Just after working out, I went to shoot some hoops for a bit before heading home (since the gym's court is always empty). Since I wasn't going to be there for long, I didn't switch into my basketball shoes and kept wearing my running shoes. I had gone for a layup and landed wrong on my foot. I ended up landing on my long toe (distal phalanx II) and it bent awkwardly. I was positive that I had dislocated it but after palpating it through my shoe (they're literally like socks on the top....bad idea to wear while playing basketball), I could feel that they were fine but it hurt like hell. When I got home and looked at it, it was just swollen. Since then, it has gotten a lot better and I can finally walk on it without having to compensate my walking pattern. I can already move it through its full ROM with little to no pain so that's great news.

As for this coming week I have three exams and a lab practical. I have already planned out my week so I am expecting to breeze through this week as well (as long as I don't procrastinate!)

-Jacob Espinoza

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After reading everyone’s post I realized that we all got hit with tests after coming back from our break and it was not fun and I still have a couple more this week 🧍🏽‍♂️ BUTT on the bright side we are almost there ! Also went tubing for the first time since like ever or when I was little but it was definitely fun! I did flip over tho 👁👄👁 we have meeting this week as well so I’m excited to see everyone ! Hope y’all’s week goes great, see y’all soon 🫡

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This past week has been very eventful for me. It was fun yesterday to get outside the house and go tubing with y'all. The whole experience was very relaxing. I also got to party with my friends for two nights and enjoy the night out. This week is going to be packed with lots of school work. I have 3 exams this week, and I feel pretty confident about them. I just hope I don't procrastinate or get too caught up in extracurricular activities and my phone. Also, I have an interview this week for a PT tech job which I pray I do well. Besides those things, that's all I got for this upcoming week. I'm just glad I know I'm moving in the right direction. Hope to see y'all this Tuesday!

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I feel like I just got ran over by a truck haha. Yesterday I played in the Alamo Cop quidditch tournament and I’m exhausted! Ugh it was so much fun, yes the sport looks goofy but I bet you’ll enjoy it you try it. We had four games vs Texas A&M Sam Houston State University & we played UT Austin twice… 4-0 babbyyy!!! This was the first time in UTSA Quadball history that we won our own tournament.. kinda wack I know lol. So today is a self care day (:

-Alyssa Villalba

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I had went home for spring break and caught up with my family back in the valley which was very well needed, because I do continue to get homesick way too frequently. I saw Lil Wayne over the break as well at the island which is only about a 30 minute drive from home in the valley so that was a fun experience. Monday, the first day back on campus was very hard to get back into that "school grind" mode after not touching my laptop all week long. I hope everyone took some time to themselves over break and wish everyone the best of luck the rest of the semester!

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Coming back from Spring Break was a shit show. I had traveled to 5 different states in Mexico within a week, got a tan, and laid on the beach (studying). My first two days of coming back was consisted of sending applications, following up with mentees, getting ready for summer classes, actual classes, and gim.

I had a really important exam for my favorite class, which I was determined to get an A. Ended up getting a D in musculoskeletal anatomy. I had studied for everything BUT one image which showed up has a hotspot question (10 times). So I did what any normal person would do, cry and go to sleep.
This exam was taken at 4am because the rest of the day I had back to back responsibilities from 7am- 8pm.

Consisted of 2 morning classes, homework time, hiking FGTSP (took 2.5hrs since I has the “Tour guide” got us lost and we had to retrace our steps), kinetickids orientation, food, then gim.

My gim moment was cut short dramatically. I had been so busy during the day that I didn’t give myself the time to use the restroom. And had an accident running to the REC restroom… then on top of that I had to walk with my disgrace from the Rec to the Roadrunner cafe (it is NOT close).

By Friday (another busy day) I skipped my Office Hours (I really didn’t wanna see anyone) and showed up to my FGTSP meeting looking like a hot mess. And even this week I have back to back morning events to attend to. Right now I am writing this down after waking up from a nightmare of almost drowning ( YAYYY I survived ;) )

The goal is to get some free time for myself and treat myself. By sleeping or hiking while listening to a podcast (and journal)

Thanks to anyone who fully read about my shitty week, you ain’t alone 🫶🏼

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Good lord this week has been a knockout. It has been tests after tests after tests. I feel like any teacher who plans exams and major tests after spring break should be outlawed. Genuinely I am grateful for even a minute of nothing. I hope each one of you enjoyed your spring break! Mine was calm, something I am happy about. I was able to go to aquatica and have fun, sadly sun burn came with it. Thank you all for your incredible support thus far in the semester. Luck and Happiness to you all! xxx

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forget to do these on an actual Sunday....- Jasmine Saldana

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forget to do these on an actual Sunday....- Jasmine Saldana

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I wish spring break was longer 😭. I had a great time with family and my boyfriend this break. I went to the rodeo and FINALLY got deep fried cheesecake, it was so good. I love love love carnival food, my boyfriend also got us deep-fried brownies, cookie dough Oreos, a spiral potato thing (it was delicious) and some gelato. I also got a foot long corndog, I ate that up so fast. me and my friends also got crawfish one day and then we got gelato in a shape of a flower!!1!11! im glad to have spent time with family and friends but I also was bored when I wasn't doing anything lol. I need to get back into school mode but im still feeling lazyyyy. but im going to try my best bc I want that 4.0 semester.

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Me, my girlfriend Sabrina, and our dog Nani at Zilker Park in Austin!

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My spring break was pretty good! Outside of working, I pretty much got to chill out with family, eat good food, and play Hogwarts Legacy lol. I hope all of you got plenty of rest and relaxation before y’all’s last little push before the summer comes! As for me, I think I’m about ready to begin hunkering down for my GRE as it’s my last check off item before I start applying to schools in July. Remember we only have two more meetings left, enjoy your time with this group while you can before our seniors graduate! Hope you guys have a great week, don’t let that Spring Break brain fog get the best of you!

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This spring break was so much needed for me. I literally just got to relax and not have to deal with the abundance of work that I did for the first half of the semester. It might take me a few days or week to get back on the studying grind, but I'm definitely ready for what's ahead. Hopefully we all get the grades we're striving for and finish the semester with a BANG! We're half way there, why stop now? We got this!

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Welp the break is over ): it was fun tho and I was still able to get a little bit of work done while also getting some much needed rest! It’s time for that final push till summer ! We got it fellas just keep grinding and remember why you started, I believe in you 🤩. See some of y’all tomorrow !

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I took advantage of this spring break to rest my brain from school. It was definitely worth it because I am ready to go back tomorrow! This semester has been my most challenging yet, but I took the time to reorganize myself and plan ahead for the semesters that I have left.

I didn't really do much this spring break. My best friend flew back to San Antonio from Boston, where he is going to school. We were able to meet up and play some basketball with strangers at the park (I won 3 times).
I mainly just worked all week and got in my 40 hours, which I really needed because my next paycheck is going to my final tuition payment.

Hope everyone had a great spring break and can't wait to see everyone!

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Hey everyone and happy spring break, finally!!! I still have some last minute assignments to turn in the is Sunday but after that woohoo we’re off for a week!(: This weekend me and my friends went to Houston to visit another one of our friends and we had so much fun! We went to the rodeo and ate some bomb food, my fav was a ramen elote mhm. I’m excited for this week because I can finally go home (Dallas) and spend time with my family and puppies 🥰 Yall be safe <3
-Alyssa Villalba

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We made it fellas !! Spring break is upon us :D I hope all of y’all enjoy and stay safe. Go out and relieve some stress, just make sure you don’t completely forget about school some of the professors might have an exam waiting for you when you get back 🧍🏽‍♂️. If you feel like you don’t know how to plan out your work this week write out what you need to have done by the end of the week and try and fit each thing into a certain day and that should help! Y’all stay safe and I’m looking forward to seeing y’all when we get back!

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What's up everyone, I hope y'all are enjoying your deserving spring break right now. I certainly am glad to be done with the first half of the semester and finally distress from all the hard work I've been doing. The past few weeks have been so fun and exciting just because I haven't branched out this much since pre-covid times, lol hopefully we don't get our spring break extended like 3 years ago. Some things I plan on doing for the upcoming weeks would be to at least observe two different types of PT facilities, get more volunteer hours, and become an elite member by the end of the semester. Anyways, I hope y'all have a fun and safe break, and I'll see y'all next week!

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Things you need to do for Women’s History Month: Go to the Pearl, get tacos from Chilaquil, and take a picture in front of the Strong Mujer sign!

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Something I was thinking about this week, besides me slacking off on my posting on here lol, was the prospect of you potential future officers for this amazing organization. I never realized how prominent the society actually is among the physical therapy community around not just San Antonio, but all of Texas until this year. So many high level people, organizations, schools, etc. follow us and expect big things out of us and I really can’t wait to see that the future officers will do with the society and the new levels it will reach under them and everyone else moving forward. I mentioned this during my presentation on Wednesday, but please if any of you guys are considering running for an officer position, do it for you, don’t do it for the bolster of your resume. Do it because you actually want to learn and grow outside of your comfort zone. Do it because you want to be seen as a leader and you want to grow the skills necessary to succeed as an effective leader. Do not fear the “what ifs”, remember what Michael Jordan said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Take that leap of faith, be yourself forever and always, and I promise everything else will fall in line. Hope you guys have a great start to your Spring Break, I’ll be sure to post again on Sunday!

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I have a question for you all, I have been feeling a great deal of stress, but understandably that comes with the territory. However after doing research on stress and anxiety I have found that a great way to relieve stress is journaling or even blogging. I love writing and carrying books around me so this does sound like an amazing idea. Along with cafe music while studying to help relax the mind and insue productivity. So what do you think on the prospects of journaling to relieve stress? I am very curious to know. Also little piece of advice for everyone, we never know what will happen in our lives, the people's close to us or even the person's walking down the road besides us so try every day to welcome people with a smile and try as hard as you can to make them smile too. Especially those you love, loved ones include pets, they are family! Have a wonderful week everyone and a fabulous spring break, I cannot wait to hear what you all do!

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This week was probably my worst week of the semester. I was exhausted from last week coming into this week (because of two exams) and then I had two anatomy exams to study for. I managed to get an A on one, but on the other.... not so lucky (still passed it though). I also had no choice but to work 5 days this week since my last tuition payment pretty much drained my wallet. Apart from other inconveniences, I still managed to make it through the week!

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Last week was my first week in awhile where I wasn't as stressed or cooped up at school or at home doing school work. It felt really good to not worry too much about upcoming exams and quizzes, but with the last 5 days before spring break, I have to lock in again because I have a quiz and this big project due. I know I can get it done, I just have to really time manage my extracurricular activities and responsibilities with my school work. All we got is five more days then we can finally take a good break from the first half of the semester. Hope y'all have a great week and see y'all on Tuesday!

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Had a pretty good week. I spent last weekend out of town to visit my best friend and I had a great time:,) Was studying for an exam all week and I did pretty well I think! I had to move my work schedule around so I had time to study and set time aside for the field day. Field day was so fun!! I went with prept and my Latin dance society but I ended up only playing with LDS but I went over to our group often but it always was when they weren’t playing either 😭 loved the bachata shines that was taught at my meeting later that night! It was super fun and more advanced which was a nice change. I bought the book Dune from a cute bookstore closer to uiw got some gelato and then me and the roomie got groceries. TODAY THO, I’m very exhausted from the volunteering event but it was so fun!! I liked it a lot (compared to Morgan’s 😭😭)

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Last week was pretty stressful because of work and one of my orgs but I got through it and we officially have 1 week until spring break 🥹.
I hope this week is an amazing week for everyone and that spring break is relaxing because college is hard and we have busy schedules.

I hope that everyone takes time to do something that brings you joy and peace before spring break is over and we get back to the busy college schedules.

Have an great week and an amazing spring break 🫶🏾.

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Man this week was one of the craziest weeks I’ve ever had. I had 3 exams, started a new job, and keep working on this research paper and I’m just happy to get it over with! We’re gonna see how the of this semester goes with 2 jobs I’m sure I can handle it, we only have almost half the semester left fellas we gotta finish strong! I know we can do it, just need to give it all we got, have a great week this week!

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Usually we feel burnout physically because your body will start shutting down. Mental health is as important as your physical health.

Some ways to prevent burnout!
- ability to self reflect
- get enough sleep
- exercise regularly
- set boundaries

I hope this helps someone! Have a nice day :)

- Ivonne S

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You are your own worst enemy; it takes discipline - Julie Inpeng

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You are your own worst enemy; it takes discipline - Julie Inpeng

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I feel like i’ve been MIA with pre-pt, school, and life in general; this week a little harder than the last few. All of the internal battles, clouds of doubt,  and my deep seated traumas of just being so hard on myself because i’ve only been compared to by other people my entire life have me in constant career crisis’. I wanted to share with y’all how I refueled my drive, and part of that includes you. As I work to rewire my brain and give myself more grace, I am inspired by the unique steps everyone is taking to get you one step closer towards PT school. It took me a lot of years and a lot of procrastination, but something a former client has said to me at the beginning of the year (in another context but can still be applied) was, “do not give yourself the option to quit”. id say just do it, but i’m not sponsored by nike teehee 🤭

this week took more energy, so some things i added to my day included: motivational podcasts on my commutes, one extra day of shadowing, and mentally telling myself that i can do this. yesterday i got to observe in an icu🥺 although i wasn’t able to see much action, i learned more so about respecting a patient’s boundaries and that we shouldn’t force them, no matter how much we can hope for them to get better. it truly depends on intrinsic motivation!

if you quit today, that’s okay. but what can you do tomorrow and so forth that can improve yourself as a whole from the person you were yesterday? remember, the only competition is yourself! you’re halfway there and one week closer to spring break!

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Tuesday Febuary 18th, Growing Through Pain

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Tuesday Febuary 18th, Growing Through Pain

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The adorbale sweet Pup above is Trip, he has been my dog for many long year, and has made it to 15 years old, however as of thursday the 23rd, I had to put him down. My dearest pup had extensive kideny and renal failure, I had no choice but to let him go. It broke my heart, he always made me so happy when I was down, he was always so happy. It makes me so so greatful for the people I do have in my life. I loved him more than anything, this is difficult, but the incredible support I have gotten I am in awe of. And I am also positive that this incredible group of future physical therapist will be fabulous in the memories and times we will share!

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I got this picture from Hogwarts Legacy which is such a fun game!!!

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I don’t think much exciting happened over the course of last week for me, work was a bit better and my mood was improved significantly likely due to me getting more sleep and eating a little better. The best thing that happened though was when I went to play Pickleball with the fam on Saturday morning and I got some major inspiration for my life and the future of our generations to come! Besides playing the awesome sport of Pickleball, even though I don’t know what any of the rules and regulations are, I absolutely love what the sport represents for the older, aging generations. No matter what court you may go to around the city, state, and country, you will likely find a ton of older folks playing with their friends and family, even those who can barely move their neck and body! I’ll never get tired of seeing them out and active despite their age and I truly hope me and our generation will follow suit and become an even healthier generation as we get older! As PTs, these folks are who make up most of our general population, at least in the outpatient orthopedic setting, and it’s amazing to see most of them still out and being more active than most of us, in comparison, care to admit. I hope you all have a beautiful week, be on the lookout for my turn for “Day in the Life” on our Instagram tomorrow!

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we’re almost half way to the semester y’all 🥹 not including spring break, we have 9 more Mondays, yay! counting down the weeks helps me get through the semester because it emphasizes how much we have already done and how close we are to the end. This semester has been surprisingly easy since it’s my last semester. I’ve really just been trying to take it all in and make the most memories during my last college semester. Yesterday i did something that I never thought I would do, I participated in the alumni association 5k run. I finished it in 36 minutes which is not the best but way better than i thought I would do. I love to workout but running has always been my demise. I get tired so easily and no matter how much I try I never seem to improve my time. I didn’t walk as much as i thought I would but this might be my gateway into running routinely now lol 😂 Anyways this is your sign to try something out of your comfort zone because I feel on top of the world after that 5k. Have a good week y’all, from me and my sore legs 🦵 🤠

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It's kind of crazy how fast the first half of the semester has already went by. I've been having to deal with lots of test, observational hours, lectures, work, and other activities that have really kept me busy and on my feet. Last week was very packed with homework and studying which made it my hardest week ever. I'm glad I got everything done, so now I can relax just a little bit more this week even though I still got some things to do. I hope all of you are doing well with your classes, and good luck on mid-terms!

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Today is the first day in weeks I actually have to myself, no classes, no work and it is giving me a moment to actually breath. I will of course still do some light school work, but it's still a relaxing day. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a year a go, had a car crash in October, knee surgery in December, a calamity over January and difficulties breathing since. I am genuinely grateful for this day of absolutely nothing, my body and brain needs it. Exams are still coming of course, and I do need to focus, and with that I am happy I have great support from my husband. But lordy is life always so hellish? lol

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This past week and a half has been really tough on me. I had club things to do for Latin dance society, an exam, homework, dealing with work and over all very busy. Then my little brother got in a car accident and he needed to be in the hospital for a while, he just got released yesterday. I went home last weekend to see him but they only let me see him for 30 mins and only one day the whole weekend. Although, one of my cousins came down to Texas for a surprise visit so I ended up having a lot of fun when I thought I was going to have a depressing time. I haven’t been on the greatest mood either since my brother got in that accident but I’ve gotten better since I saw him in person. But now I have to catch up on everything school-wise, and try even harder since this stress affected my test (BADLY😭) .

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Yoooo.. this week was super busy for me. School, work, orgs be having me so drained! So on Saturday night I called in for like the first time in forever, but I deserved it. It was a self care day hanging w my friends and today I had to catch up on all my homework.. Yall have a good week <3

- Alyssa Villalba

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Enjoy this picture of my doggo Nani giving me the funniest side eye I’ve ever seen 😂

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Hello again everyone! One thing interesting I wanted to particularly share with you guys here in regards to PT was the idea of burnout and how we can possibly avoid it when we inevitably run into it. This was probably my first week since I’ve been a tech, which I’ve been now for over a year and some change, in which I started to feel a little burnout towards the job. I had to travel across the city to a different clinic twice, in order to get some more hours to pay these bills I have now in this adult life, and with that came the challenge of adapting to a different culture and then readjusting back to my familiar culture back at my home clinic. I couldn’t really tell at first that I was feeling differently until I got home from my shift on Thursday and I was thinking “damn that actually wasn’t fun today” and “I cannot wait for the weekend” things that I’ve never really thought to myself over the course of my time as a tech. I think over time I’ll get used to the routine and such, but I don’t really know if I’ll ever get used to the same ol’ 30-40 hours a week thing for the rest of my life. Still, that is a grind I think we’ve all come to accept if we really want to, not only work our dream job, but survive and make a living in the process. I’d love anybody’s advice for ways that they avoid burnout during the week, even with stuff that they typically love doing. Let me know if you got anything, I’ll see y’all at the meeting and I hope you have an awesome rest of your week!

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How's it going y'all? I hope all of you had a great week. This past week has been very packed up with lots of school work and outside priorities. I feel like this semester is going by quickly, especially February. Anyways, the last seven days have been just one of those weeks where you just got to grind school work. I didn't really have anything too eventful besides playing basketball for the first time in months. I felt really rusty at first, but as I kept playing, the game became easier. Hopefully the next few days I can get ahead of my school work, so I can have some free time to do something fun. I hope to see y'all at our next meeting this week!

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Good morning fellassss ! I hope y’all’s week was great ! This week was 10x better than last week, I started to utilize my own strategies a bit more and I had way more time to do things I enjoyed :D. Another piece of advice I can give today is to plan out your days the night before. When we wake up we have so many decision to make, what are we gonna wear, what should I start on, what am I gonna eat? The mind can only make so many good decisions before it starts to get tired. Planning out your day before hand can take this problem away! Take a journal (can even be then 50 cent ones) and write down 1hr time blocks from the time you wake up till you go to sleep and schedule in what you’re going to be doing during these times. It’s a time saver big time and will hopefully improve your studies! Hope y’all’s week goes well!

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Hey guysss! I wanna say this week has been eventful but that feels like every week of the semester for me :,) Thankfully though, I've been going to the Rec and have actually been hanging out with new friends as a way to practice wellbeing. I feel like I'm learning to prioritize self care and while I'm stressed and will continue to be this semester, it's been so rewarding having little breaks of peace from my self care practices. I hope everyone is having a good semester so far and also making time to enjoy themselves! See y'all at the upcoming meeting 🫶🏻 - Amber Valdez

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This past week was packed up with lots of activities and school work. I got back my grade for my biomechanics exam, and surprisingly I got an A. Then I studied and took a quiz for exercise physiology, and I got a 9/10 on that one which I'm happy with. It was very fun as well to get out of the house and go to the meeting and bowling event. This week I really got to grind because I have to study for a five chapter quiz in strength and conditioning, and film a workout video for that class as well. On top of that, I have an exam this Tuesday for motor learning which I'm like 50% prepared. Anyways, I hope y'all had a great week, and I'll let y'all know how this week goes next Sunday.
P.S. I'm so hyped that the Chiefs are the champs!!!

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My weekend consists of working 🥲 Uggh my job is so draining physically, mentally and emotionally but I make pretty good money so I put up with it on the weekends… I’m think of finding another job but I don’t have the time to look tbh, but we’ll see. Today is Super Bowl Sunday so it should be a good night at work ,(I work at a pool hall) hopefully we make some money! Happy Sunday yall and the superbowl doesn’t matter because the Cowboys aren’t playing, always next season tho! 🤩

- Alyssa Villalba

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This week was a bit of a weird one for me. Last Friday I had to report for jury duty on zoom with 500 other people and of course with my luck, I got selected with 54 other people to go to the courthouse on Monday and Tuesday. Let me tell you guys, jury duty is the biggest waste of time on this planet I swear, please try to avoid it as long as you can. Literally all I did was sit down for two straight days waiting to be sent home from my“civic duty” and basically lost out on two days of work bc the city only pays $6 every day you serve! After that horrendous start to the week though, I was able to say goodbye to the PTA at my clinic that taught me so much about PT in such a limited amount of time as he moved on to another location still within Promotion. Hopefully this week coming up is way better and filled with more learning opportunities. I hope everybody has a great Valentine’s Day (whether you’re celebrating or not lol) and a great rest of your week! P.S. I got the Eagles winning it all tonight!🦅🦅🦅🦅

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Good afternoon fellas! this is my first ever post so I’m very excited ! This week was a very stressful one with exams hitting and trying to get myself involved in projects and groups it was all pretty intense. It took me away from doing things that I find stress relieving such as the gym or reading or hanging out with friends but I realized that there was some time where I would just be in between assignments doing nothing and that time would be wasted away when I could be chasing my goals. So my message for this is that if you feel that you’re not able to do the things you enjoy and feel stressed remember that there is 24 hours in a day (maybe like 16 cause you know sleep) but still, that is a lot of time you can be using to chase your dreams while still keeping your mental and physical health in check ! So put the phone down and start living the life you were meant to live !

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Who else is pumped up to see Rihanna’s halftime show? Wahoo!!!! It’s a time for celebration, a time for being together with friends and family, and enjoying the big game. Whether you’re an Eagles fan or a Chiefs fan, only showing up at halftime for Rihanna or critiquing all the Super Bowl commercials, it’s gonna be a fun night. But make sure you got all your work and assignments done beforehand, cuz you don’t want to stress out and miss out on the game cuz of a 11:59pm deadline for any of your classes.

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Do y’all follow the official Dragon Ball account on Twitter? They post these wallpaper calendars every month and I love them so much 😭

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Another Week = More Time to Procrastinate 😂

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Another Week = More Time to Procrastinate 😂

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What’s going on guys! I don’t have much of an update this week with me, I’m still in my same ol’ routine of working and spending time with family. Now that it’s February though, I really gotta start studying for the GRE and I’m dreading it lol. Ever since graduating, my will to even think about school work again is like absolutely minimal 😂 but the GRE is pretty much my last checklist item I need to start applying in the summer so I just need the proper motivation and I’ll get on it! Maybe we can even make a study group for those of us getting ready to apply in the summer?🤔 Lmk!!

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What's good everyone? Just wanted to say how excited I am to go to my first meeting this week since I couldn't go to the last one because of work. I hope I can meet a lot more people through this society and build stronger relationships with everyone involved. Last week was my first time getting my observational hours through a PT clinic, and I can't express how thrilled I am to get myself out there. It was such a great learning experience, and I can't wait for what's in store for me in the following weeks. Again, I hope to meet you all this Tuesday, as well as, if you're going to the bowling event too!

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Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a great start of the Spring Semester and being safe while staying warm during these cold times. I’m currently at a Starbies due to not having wifi from this Winter Storm warning 😵‍💫 I decided to catch up on my homework and I started to read these articles on crystals for my Emotional Wellness class. I’m actually really surprised how interested I was in reading them since I had little to no prior knowledge of crystals. If any of y’all know interesting info about them let me know! Two crystals that caught most of my attention was Lapis Lazuli (promotes speaking one’s truth with grace, ease, and confidence) and Chrysocolla (helps in embracing divine feminine power in various ways). Definitely will try to look more into crystals whenever I have a chance, their history is so interesting!

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Hey everyone! I’m excited to get back into the pre-pt groove with everyone this semester! Last semester I studied abroad in Australia so I missed the pre-pt gang. It seems like there are so many new faces around so i’m excited to build more connections with everyone! (:

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Enjoy this grad pic of me from last month! I am maniPhesTing (see what I did there lol) that ALL of you will reach this point at the time you are meant to and you WILL flourish in your future! LET’S GOOOOOO!!!!!

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Man so much has happened since I last posted! I have graduated with my bachelors in kinesiology, I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend Sabrina, and I even got Covid after graduation lol 😭😭. 2022 was an insane year for me and I could really tell I grew in every aspect possible, so I hope 2023 has more of the same in store. In my time left as Secretary for you guys this semester, I really want to help the society grow even more and draw in as many members as possible to set it up for maximum success in the future and pass the torch to the next secretary in the smoothest and easiest way possible! I love all you guys, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! See y’all next week!

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Hey people! I am very excited to join this club this semester, and I look forward to what's to come. Since last semester, I realized I needed to branch myself out more in my journey to becoming a physical therapist. On the first day of the spring semester, I've joined this club, as well as, getting my first observational hours with Promotion Physical Therapy. Getting the most experience I can is what really is missing from my resume, so I can't wait for what's in store for me for the next 3-4 months.

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First Post of the Year, I'm trying to start it out right
Listening to Dr. Martindale yesterday, I got scared, but at the same time I realized that what he said is what I needed to hear.
Why PT? Why am I me? What's my story? Who am I trying to be?
We are all part of a great, beautiful ecosystem. Driven by passion, strengthen by putting in the work, living through strife now because we know when we finally earn that DPT, it'll all be worth it.
My goal is to make being active fun. That's the beauty of doing what we do, right? We work towards becoming a physical therapist because it's fun. So let's enjoy this ride together and have fun! Good luck to everyone!

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Hey everyone!!!

First off let me just say,  I am SO GRATEFUL to have met everyone of y’all throughout the semesters. Within Pre-PT, or IM Sports although i have the world’s worst hand eye coordination and two left feet (no really bc i keep rolling out my right ankle more than i could count and have proof), then seeing y’all in my classes, struggling together, seeing y’all get tech jobs (jealous btw but idk how to interview anymore smh help), and for some of my oldies, SEEING YOU GUYS GET IN PT SCHOOL🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼. I AM SO PROUD OF EACH AND EVERYONE OF YALL AND I LOVE CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESSES. You guys never fail to amaze me, and make me laugh every time! Thank you for being more than a member, more than a classmate, more than a friend. Thank you for being such an inspiration to me and those around you, and lighting up this world with your grit and motivation. If I have met you between Fall 2020-Now, thank you for crossing paths with me! Hope to step into 2023 together or sometime!

-Julie Inpeng

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I am so excited that the semester is almost over and spend time with my loved ones. I still waiting to hear back from more PT schools and start thinking/planning what my next year is going to look like :)
Crazy that about a month from today, I would have most of my answers.
- Ivonne S.

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This week before I left San Antonio for Thanksgiving I learned how to write a proposal argument paper for my WRC 1023 class, and the differences in personality between athletes and non athletes. Both were very interesting but I enjoyed learning about the personality discrepancies. For example, apparently athletes tend to be extroverts who have more stable emotional profiles, lower anxiety and stress levels, and most obviously, more competitive.

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I've been struggling to be able to get to the gym as much as I would like since I've started college. If I'm not swamped in work I'm exhausted or working, or supposed to be visiting family. It's difficult. There aren't enough hours in the day and I miss being able to spend hours stretching and lifting or doing yoga and cardio. However, I think it's helpful to note that I can always go back to that. Even if I can't do it as much as I would like now, I am doing my best to reach ALL of my goals, not just those that may be deemed hobbies.

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This week was eventful, that's for sure. My 2 highlights of the week are...

1) I went to the Faculty-Student Mixer (Science Semana) event where Dr. H spoke about his path towards his career. His speech was enlightening and motivational. He almost made me tear up when he started talking about how we should be proud of what we accomplish because we represent so many people/things. For me, I represent my family, UTSA, the Pre-PT Society, the future of PT, first-gen students, hispanic students, and female students/PT. They also had the cutest science stickers which was a plus! I scored a cute heart 🫀sticker with the different sections labeled. A lil mini cheat sheet. 😌

2) I went to my first major social this week at the Pearl!! I'm normally a hermit crab and keep to myself, which I'm sure if you were at the Pearl, you'd of noticed I'm kinda shy :,) but going out was a big win for me and I loved getting to be with the society outside of school. 🤍

Looking forward to the upcoming Pre-PT Society meeting. Super sad we're almost done with the meetings for this semester. ☹️ I love our little family. 🫶🏻

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Burnout is the worst sicknes and y’all are my cure 🥹

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Burnout is the worst sicknes and y’all are my cure 🥹

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Lately, i’ve been doing my best to hold it all together. For my friends, for my family, for my coworkers, everything, but I am TIRED. I’m tired of overcompensating, or “doing the most” when I don’t have/need to be. Sometimes I want to be my goofy normal self but I can’t because things need to be taken care of; at home/school/work, but most importantly, i need to take care of myself. My mind does not turn off and there’s a million things that need to be done. That energy translates to my peers too and it’s kind of contagious—stressing y’all out when y’all don’t need to be (and i apologize for that). Thank you to those who check in on me, and are there as a friend for me, because I couldn’t do it without y’all. Thank you for keeping me sane when everything is ruff, because although I joke about quitting school, some days that thought sounds a whole lot easier.

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Ngl, this week drained me 😭 BUT I had a few good moments that I'd like to share :)

1) I got to film a "Day in the Life" TikTok video for the FYE program here at UTSA. Our amazing social media peer mentor is putting the TikTok together and it'll be up soon 🤞🏼 Y'all should check it out :) (@utsa.fye on TikTok)

2) I caught up with some friends that I hadn't seen in awhile. Was honestly the highlight of my week. We just sat at a table on campus, talked, and enjoyed the weather

3) I passed my Anatomy 2 lab practical 🥳 Honestly haven't been focused on the right classes this semester but I put some extra energy into Anatomy these past few weeks and it definitely paid off. It was honestly a weight off my chest when I got my grade results back. Anatomy has always been my favorite but it's definitely a class that I lack confidence in myself for. Slowly working on it. So far so good :)

Hope everyone had a good week and continues to do well with the semester coming closely to an end. We got this! 💜

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Something I’ve been thinking about lately regarding PT is the sheer levels that we have yet to reach even as we approach the end of our undergraduate degree. We know absolutely nothing compared to PTs and rightfully so as they have literally gone through hell to reach their own mountain top and even they still have more to climb. We have barely even scratched the surface of what there is to know about the body and when it comes time to actually applying what we do know, it’s completely nerve racking and terrifying, yet humbling to know there is still room to grow. At my clinic, the PTs come up with a question of the week for the techs and every week is a crazy hard challenge about different parts of the body and how they function and what can we do to exercise and rehab them and I may know some things off the top of my head, but the rest always will require some research. For example, this week’s question is “1. Name 4 muscles that provide stability to the lumbar spine on the posterior trunk

a. Name 3 exercises for this group

b. When would you strengthen this group?

2. Name 4 muscles that provide stability to the lumbar spine on the anterior trunk

a. Name 3 exercises for this group

b. When would you strengthen this group?

3. Name 5 muscles that provide stability to the lumbar spine at the hips

a. Name 3 exercises for this group

b. When would you strengthen this group?”
If you can look at that and know all the answers off the top of your head, I commend tf out of you fr bc I saw it and I told the PT she was trippin for giving us this question 😂. But the point remains that the levels to the knowledge we need to achieve is insane and exciting all at the same time and even though the many mountains we have yet to climb seem daunting, we should all welcome the challenge to achieve what we want to achieve at the highest possible level!

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This week has been crazy. The area of stress relevant to this padlet, however, is figuring out my schedule for next year. This is my first semester of college, but I am already a sophomore. After the spring semester I will already be a junior. Things seem like they are moving at the speed of light. I feel a little overwhelmed with how much rests on my current choices, I just hope future me still thinks I chose the right ones. At least now I still have an advisor though lol.

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This is my rabbit named Iroh (from Avatar: The Last Airbender). He may look cute but he's a big grouch lol but he makes me happy :)

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As a FYE peer mentor for UTSA, I have so many of my students talk to me about how stressful school is for them and how overwhelming it can be to juggle so many things at once during the semester.

Specifically for me, this past week has really got me thinking about how I manage my stress and how effective it truly is when up against a large volume of stress at once.

Spoiler alter: I survived this week!

There are so many ways people choose to take care of their mental and physical health. For me, this week showed that my friends and my rabbit are effective ways for me to decompress.

With finals only a couple weeks away, I just wanted to remind you guys to take a break and make time for what makes you happy. <3

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I can’t tell if this picture is real or not lol but bears are cool when they’re not trying to maul you out of existence 😭

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Wow not me almost forgetting about my own Padlet for a second😭😭😭 Man this week was tough!! I just wanna say real quick to keep enjoying the little things in your life! Whether it be playing a game with the boys or FaceTimeing your siblings or going out and socializing with friends, enjoy the moment. I hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend and Halloween and nobody gets too plastered lol. I’ll come back on my next post with some better, juicy thoughts, stay tuned!(:

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Yesterday was the last intramural game of my undergrad (since I graduate this fall) ! I have been playing indoor and outdoor volleyball since my second semester of college and it has been so fun. It was the one thing I always looked forward to and still made me believe that the student athlete is still within haha. I made so many new friends, memories, and points during these years that I would do it all over again. I hope time and school allows me to continue playing for fun until the semester ends because I am not ready to stop playing. If you ever came to support, thank you! And if we ever played together, you will be missed and I wish all the luck and support for the upcoming spring sports!!!

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With how much homework, studying, and work I've been doing, I've been having a hard time being myself. It's hard to find time to do workouts, read recreationally, bake desserts, or volunteer at animal shelters. However, I've found that the best way to stay true to yourself is put what you have to do as a priority. Maybe working out 3 times a week at least becomes a non-negotiable for you. You will find time to do everything else that needs to get done. Don't lose yourself in the process of becoming who you want to be.

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When we first started school, everything seemed at least a little spread out. Now classes are having tests so close together it feels almost impossible to prepare for all of them. I'm doing it and I'm so proud if myself for doing so, but I feel like I'm tripping over myself to keep up. I'm not going to give up and I'll figure out a way to make it work for me.

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Bestfest was an event that caused me so much stress and anxiety. I had never attended bestfest, so being faced with hosting and organizing it scared me. There were so many scratched forms and excel sheets, 3 meetings with roadrunner productions, setting up times to receive yalls much appreciated donations, grocery lists, and so much more. I am so thankful to all the officers for helping me come up with pricing, budgeting, donation plans, attended meetings for me, and being there the day of. I am beyond grateful to the members who donated items and came out on a Friday to hold posters in the sun and prepare food. We may not have been as successful in sales this year, but we live and we learn! I am super proud of the work we did and we all won in my eyes. I can now take a deep breath and prepare myself for more fundraisers for the society

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Any Anime Lovers here? I've only started watching anime 2 years ago, and now it's like my favorite leisure thing to do after creative writing and working out.

I've finally made it to the end of Naruto Shippuden, which is one of my favorite series (despite how long and how many filler episodes there are). I love Demon Slayer, I've seen the first season of One Piece (also really long series), finished Kuroko's Basketball a month ago, watched all of SAO twice (also really long), and as you've seen in the PT Elite chat, I love Haikyuu.

However, my favorite genre of anime is slice of life, you know the short and sweet animes that can make me laugh and cry at the same time (ex: Tsukigakirei, Sing "Yesterday" for Me, Classroom of the Elite, etc.) My absolute favorite is Your Lie in April (the music, the plot, the instant tears of sadness and joy in every episode).

Lately, I've been getting into SpyXFamily (season 2 out now and I love it), I started Chainsaw Man (new anime that started last week, ep. 2 is out), I've been following The Daily Life of the Immortal King, and there's a dozen more animes that I've been interested in starting. Let me know if you're an anime lover too, if you've also seen any of the shows I've mentioned, and/or have any recommendations.

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One thing I really took away from this week is that we really gotta take care of our mental health man. We officially completed half of the fall semester at the time of writing this and are now going into the second half with mostly everyone already done with midterms. I feel like I’ve gotten particularly good at reading people’s faces and body language since the start of this year and when I look at all my peers and mentors and professors and everybody alike, all I see is pure mental exhaustion, myself included. Life and school is such a major drag (s/o my boy Shikamaru lol) that if you’re not careful, can take everything out of you. I want everyone to really look inward, and this is something I want to really express across my entire career, and ask yourself “how are you doing?” every single day that you can. I want everyone to know the importance of having a surrounding that’s filled with positivity and people to just vent your frustrations to (if you ever feel like you don’t have one, reach out to anybody here in the society, we’re all family!) and that it’s okay to ask for help. I know that mental health day just passed a few days ago, but I want everyone to treat every day as a mental health day. That is exactly why I made this Padlet; writing out the things that’s on your mind can help flush out some of those feelings we balled up throughout the week and gives them a safe space to be released into. You don’t even have to gush about this kind of stuff, if you wanna write about the complexities of the shoulder or how ankle mobility will help with squats, then I’m all for it man, go for it, use this space as the place to be yourself. I appreciate you all, we are halfway through, keep pushing and keep protecting your mentals, your chicken, and your bodies (s/o Marshawn Lynch).

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I just wanted to come on here and write about how much I have come to love and appreciate the officers who Im working with. They are beyond awesome and I don't think I have come to cherish a group of people before. I can not express how much just a few words from them have helped me get through some tough times this semester. They're a group of people who I know i can fully trust with anything. Im glad I met them all through this awesome society, and I'm even more glad to be working with them this school year.

I can keep going on and on about how much I love this group of people who I'm pleased to call my friends. They have really made everything worthwhile.

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Lately I have been feeling so unmotivated because I am still waiting to hear back from some PT schools, but I know the application JUST closed for them. I feel a little uneasy about not knowing for certain what the next step is, whether that is PT school, grad school, a gap year, or more experience. I know I've done everything I need to do and literally all I can do is just wait now.

In times of frustration it's easy to forget to enjoy where you are in the moment. Right now I can focus on school, friends, family, my surgery, and relaxing.

I wanted to write a short little thing to remind ya'll it is important to think about your future. Remember don't cloud your vision by only seeing what's at the end of the tunnel! Take a moment to look around, go out with friends, be stupid, stay out late and just live. You can always get to your goals it'll be there, just take some time to yourself every now and then to enjoy life happening right now.

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Hey guys! I was recently given a great opportunity to interview with TexPTS and I wanted to share some common questions to help you guys prepare. Here are a few that I prepared beforehand:

"Tell me about yourself", "why do you want to be a PT/ PT tech?", "tell me about a time when you were challenged", "tell me about a time when you were successful in a group", "what are your strengths/ weaknesses?", "how are you a leader?", "what are important skills of a PT tech?", "how will you deal with a resistant patient?", "what sets you apart from others?"

These are the questions I was asked:

"tell me about yourself/ walk me through your resume", "what brought you to this career path?", "what would you say coworkers like the most about you? the least?", "what did you like the most about previous jobs? the least?"

I know the questions I was asked aren't too PT/ PT tech related, but I made an effort to relate it back to that to show my interest. My interview was quite chill, but it's better to know how to answer all these questions! Here are some tips:

Know your resume from top to bottom, read the mission statement of the business you're applying to, know your availability, have questions to ask about the end, pretend the person you're interviewing with is your friend! I am an extremely anxious person and I was very stressed, but I just tried to make friendly conversation and ask the interviewer to talk about themselves as well (this will show them you actually care and you're not a robot!)

You guys can always message me with questions or ask for advice, I don't bite! Have a nice week(:

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This question is part of a question that I got last week from the clinic I work at. I didn’t wanna ask you guys action, origin, insertion, and innervation bc although it’s important, like 100% know what they are, it’s just meh you know?😂

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Extra Point Opportunity to Whoever Comments First!

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Extra Point Opportunity to Whoever Comments First!

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This question comes in three parts and even if you’re not able to comment first, it should still serve as a good learning opportunity! Now, who can tell me:
1.) How many calf muscles are there?🤔
2.) Of those muscles, which one doesn’t flex the knee?🙊
3.) In regards to the bigger muscles in the calf, how can you change a calf raise to bias one muscle over the other?🤭
First one to get all three right will get an extra point!

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It's finally here, the day I've been waiting for since the end of summer! For those who don't know, SpyxFamily is a really cute and awesome anime about a spy, Loid, an assassin, Yor, and an adopted little girl, Anya, faking a family to get into a really renowned private school (all for the sake of a spy mission Loid has). Season 2 is finally out now, and I can't wait to find time this week to watch the new episodes. If y'all fans of the show and want to have a watch party lmk :)

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I'm writing this after my 4th workshop! I feel so happy and confident as an officer to help everyone be the best applicant they can be in order to become a physical therapist! I am so proud of how this society has grown  and bounced back from COVID and how many members are so active.

I think this group of members and officers has just really come together stronger than ever, I am so proud of how much involvement and participation everyone does within the society. I think the society does a great job uniting us all together and providing a great support system. Using this blog style outlet and forming connections among members brings us so much closer and I am just so proud to be one of the officers/representatives of this society!

We are so much stronger with the help of others, and I hope this society makes a lasting impact on everyone that is part of it !! : ))

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Good morning Pre PT! I hope all of you all are doing well and are starting off the week on a good note. The end of the semester is quickly approaching, only 2 more months until break, and the spring semester unless you’re graduating this fall. I just wanted to give you all a quick reminder, and to finish strong. There’s so much in store for the upcoming months school wise and holidays. Let’s finish the fall semester strong!

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This past week has got me mentally exhausted. Family issues at home that I do not agree with. Personally issue with a long distance relationship that I feel is falling apart. Plus school and its responsibilities….. it’s honestly too much to take all at once. At the same time I feel like it’s my responsibility to balance it all. It will take time to try and ease my situation since it’s so much going on at once. I’m sure it won’t affect me, at least I hope so.

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I have an exam coming up and we need to learn planes of the body, it’s also a nice little reminder for us future pt’s :)
-Sagittal plane: R/L sides, medial lateral axis, motions: flexion/ extension, ankle dorsiflexion/plantar flexion ,
-Frontal plane: anterior/ posterior sides, axis: ant/posterior , motions: abduction/adduction , lateral flexion, radial/ ulnar deviation, ankle in/eversion , valgus/ varus (knee/elbow)
-Transverse plane: longitudinal axis , internal/external rotation , R/L rotation, supination/ pronation, horizontal abduction/adduction (shoulder)

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I usually don't like Monday but this semester's Mondays have been good for me because I have no classes and hardly have to work. Gives me time to analyze what I need to do for the week and time for myself in addition to the weekend. Even though the weekend isn't so much of "me time" because sometimes there are assignments due on Sundays. I hope everyone had a great weekend and a fantastic week!
- Ivonne S.

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So this past Friday, our social coordinator had us go to Altitude Trampoline Park and it was so fun despite my arm still being sore from gripping the hell out of everything I could up on that dang obstacle course lol. The best thing to come out of that however was seeing everyone’s inner kid come out and release whatever stress we all had built up over the week. I feel that too many times we tend to get caught up in how grown up we are that we forget there’s still a part of us longing to be unleashed, our inner youth. When we first got there, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of embarrassment due to the optics of me looking like an old man or something next to these children who were enjoying their Friday night jumping around to their heart’s content, but after some time I realized we aren’t so different after all. The duality that represents youth and time is fascinating; we want nothing more than to return to the young age of having no responsibilities, no job, no need to make ends meet, while the kids want nothing more than to be cool like us and feel the same freedoms we do now. When I stopped to think about that, I sort of just let go of that stupid feeling of embarrassment and just have fun. Never forget guys, time will stop for no one, be present and be proud of who you are and how far you’ve come, and let that inner child out to have some fun every now and then, it’ll do wonders for you.

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The start of my semester this year has been rather interesting to say the least. Beginning off with moving into a new apartment for this year that was plagued with roaches, mold and several pieces of furniture not being put together, to catching Covid and having to deal with that for the first time ever, then to have to play catch-up with my classes due to the following issues beforehand. Then to top it all off my financials have been at an all time low these past couple months. I’m barely getting by often times with less than $30 to my name until the next pay check. Even with all this negativity I’m being faced with I’m trying to keep it together cause we’re in the endgame now. One more semester and I’ll be a college graduate. It’s hard at times to keep the stress under control, but I keep reminding myself about the goal that’s near and it helps little by little. When we walk that stage I’ll look back at what I’ve had to endure not just what I’m going through now , but this entire journey throughout my undergrad career and just be glad we made it to the finish line, but until then I’ll just keep pushing one day at a time.

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Mistakes Are Just Opportunities to Learn

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Mistakes Are Just Opportunities to Learn

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Twenty-three years and I can't seem to catch a break,
No matter how hard I try,
No matter how much I give,
I found myself in a mistake.
Life never was easy peasy lemon squeezy
Never once was there never anxiety
I repeated 3rd grade, I had (and still have) a problem speaking
I was supposed to graduate last year, but I pushed it to a fifth year
I never had an actual best friend growing up,
Either fighting my own fears and doubts
or not finding a group that wasn't superficial and playing pretend
The past 23 years, I just wanted it all to end...

But!

It's not the end, I still have a lot to live for
I've been living in the dark for too long, and I am blessed to see some light
The only mistake I made was allowing all the negatives to overpower my positives.
I realize it now that mistakes are not bad, that failures aren't game over
I realize that I'm not alone and that I have so many family and friends (like all of you) to help me back up to my feet.

I've learned now, and I'm thankful for it.
That it's okay for me to cry.
That it's okay for me to ask for help.
That it's okay to make mistakes.
The beauty of being human is that we are meant to make mistakes. That's how we grow and develop, that's how we can truly appreciate when we do become successful.

Being back at UTSA for another year, opened the door to being sports coordinator, to be the captain that you all can see. It's through the mistakes I've made that I learned what my true passions are. It's through the mistakes I made that I now have an opportunity at becoming the person I am meant to be. It's through the care and friendships that I can have a real season finale where I get to put my heart and soul into PT Elite, motivate and make a lasting impression to each and every one of you before I go.

We all have our tough times, We all have our moments of making mistakes, that make us feel down about ourselves. Remember first - you are not alone, you are never alone. If you're ever down or feel lost, you know you at least have me and that you've got so many caring people to help you back up.
Remember that mistakes don't define you, and that it's okay to make them.
You are a human - a young and beautiful person and you have potential, it takes time and effort to grow and learn in order to realize your potential.

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First full month of college- McKenzie Vlack

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First full month of college- McKenzie Vlack

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I have learned that prioritizing my education may result in harm to my close relationships. Not everyone will understand why I keep going in a direction of struggle when it proves to be difficult just as promised. Not everyone will understand my career choice because "you could go to school for the same amount of time for a different career and make more money" or "I'll get bored". However, what they say doesn't matter if this is what is important to me. I am the one who will have to decide if I'm satisfied with it.

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This past year has been really difficult for me. I experienced the end to a serious relationship, my grandpa passing away, friends leaving, tearing my ACL and other personal issues. I usually have a realist view on life and experiences that eventually shifts into a very pessimistic point of view. Yesterday I believe I truly understood that we do have to be grateful for our suffering.

I feel as almost if the limitations that I now have from my leg has made my perspective shift. Every hardship we face in life, and especially college is something we take for granted. In every moment where we feel the weakest or most vulnerable we grow and improve that results in a stronger and better version of ourselves. Every moment has an opportunity to learn a lesson and learn more about ourselves.

If our lives were perfect, if we never hit a low point where we felt as if we couldn't keep going, what is there to gain from ? It is cliche to say life isn't easy, but its cliche for a reason. Every day is full of inconveniences, and things that ruin our day and can cause frustrations, but instead of letting you stay down, learn from it, see and think "what can I learn from this moment?".

With school it's hard to manage time and our focus on different things, and it can cause a lot of stress and breaking points. Our suffering and pain strengthens us and builds us up, as long as we let it! Shifting perspective from failing a test to seeing "okay how can i do better?" will change your lifestyle drastically. A breakup can lead to more self-discovery/reinvention! A death can allow you to value life more! An injury will improve your mentality and physical strength!

If people were to start treating hardships as opportunities, people's mindsets can change and life becomes "easier". I am writing this to encourage you to remember that a hard time is not only full of bad things. There is always good in the bad, it just depends on if you're willing to look for it or not < 33

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Bleach anime coming back soon!! Am I caught up? No not at all. Have I watched all the trailers so far and loved every second of them despite not knowing who or what I’m looking at? You bet your sweet bippy I did!😂

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One month into my last semester of undergrad, where has the time gone?! I sometimes wonder if I’m taking this time for granted because it really seems like graduation is coming at lightning pace, but at the same time I’m so ready to be done with this degree lol. I’ve come to really appreciate having this next year off while I strengthen my resume to apply to PT school next cycle. My time in school has been fun, even better when I’m amongst friends here with the society, but jeeeez I cannot wait to be done with these professors and all of these assignments. Still, take no moment for granted, reflect on the good and the bad, and just remember to have fun! I can’t express enough to you guys how grateful I am that all of you have been so open with your thoughts and I can’t wait to read more!

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Good afternoon y’all, I’m always constantly reminding myself about the little things in life because they’re usually forgotten and they matter the most. So much as a breath of fresh air is taken for granted nowadays I feel like because of how much is going on in our day to days, school, work. I just wanna say, don’t forget to tell loved ones you love them. Keep yourself up and don’t forget why you’re doing what you’re doing. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Count your blessings and think positive, it will always outweigh the negative.

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These past few weeks, I’ve been feeling almost every feeling imaginable. I’ve laughed and cheered, I’ve cried and felt anger, I’ve done everything I could but at the same time I feel like I haven’t done enough. As sports coordinator, I play as a captain and coach for intramural games, I organize and manage practices and events, and I do what I can to be an accountable, inspirational, successful leader. Everyone active in PT Elite at this point would know and understand that I only preach one main thing- When We stand together and play together, we win together. We have been mercy ruled in three flag football games and managed to tie the fourth game, in our first volleyball games this last Wednesday, we won comfortably in coed and lost a really close, epic match in the mens. If you’re at the games or at least in the pt elite groupmes, you’ve seen my immediate reactions and real expressions. I may be the captain of the ship, but it is all of you - players and cheering spectators - that makes PT Elite a team. I’m definitely not perfect and I’m not captain because I’m athletically talented. I became sports coordinator and captain because I have a passion. And that passion is to unite PT Elite as one ☝️, keep our team strong 💪 and to make PT Elite mean something positively special for everyone a part of it. It’s only when we stand together, we play together, that we win together. And when I say together, I mean everyone in pre-pt playing and cheering. It’s cheesy and copying high school musical, but it’s the truth that we only win when we are all in this together!

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This week I learned the various types of bone ans bone cells. This included short, long, flat, irregular, sesmoid, cortical, and more. This helped me conceptualize what specific bones looked like and why based on where they are located and their purpose.

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How can we know our limits? (Extra post from your fav Secretary)

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How can we know our limits? (Extra post from your fav Secretary)

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Something I’ve had on my mind lately and just wanted to share and express myself a bit with you guys about is when the hell do we know our limits? As it stands now, I’m taking my last 4 classes of my undergrad degree (2 of which are meh and the other 2 are okay I guess lol), I’m the secretary here for you guys with this beautiful organization, I work about 25-30 hours or so a week at my tech job, I live about 20 minutes from campus, I take care of my dog since my parents are aging, I probably only average like maximum 5 1/2 hours of sleep per night, I haven’t been able to sit down and play a video game in what feels like years now, according to my exercise prescription class I’m only classified as somewhat active on the physical activity scale, I’m in the process of planning a move to an apartment at the start of next year with my longtime girlfriend, and then whatever else that may come my way during the week. Throughout college, I’ve of course felt stressed and I know what feeling anxious about the future feels like for sure, but even after everything I just listed, I don’t feel a thing. Am I a weirdo? Have I figured out balance? Am I numb after four long years of college? Sh** if I knew, I would gladly give you guys the secret juice lol. Still, I fall asleep every night with ease, most likely due to the exhaustion I just can’t truly seem to feel, and it’s right back to it the next day. I’m not exactly in autopilot mode, I’m not exactly cruising or coasting, I’m just in flow if that makes sense lol. I guess my message to you, my friends, is that despite the inevitable challenges that await us all, find the social support system you need to keep you not just afloat, but standing tall, with supreme confidence. I have an amazing support system behind me with my family, my girlfriend’s family, my friends, and the society that have all helped me feel like I can wear the mask too (Into the Spider-Verse reference for you geeks lol). In addition to this, you will find your limits one day and I don’t know if even I have myself, but you will find a way to surpass them and become a better version of yourself, I just know it. Believe in yourself always, it’ll take you farther than you know!