Informational Interview with Natalie Miller

1. Why did you select this individual to interview?
   • I chose to interview Natalie since she recently graduated from Ohio State with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. I thought it would be helpful to get some personal advice about graduate school and how to apply. I also volunteer with her and three other physical therapists for my student research position.
2. Describe the major responsibilities associated with their current role.
   • Natalie is currently employed in the Outpatient Neuromuscular Physical Therapy Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She gives therapy to children and adults and participates in the creation and application of various research studies.
3. Discuss how the person prepared for this role, and if they provided you with any advice as what you might be able to do to prepare for a similar career.
   • Natalie did both her undergrad and doctorate at The Ohio State University. She got her bachelors in Exercise Science. Natalie gave me a lot of good advice on what I should do in undergrad to best prepare for applying to graduate school. We discussed my course work and extra curriculars. Natalie summarized what the GRE was like and she recommended getting a Kaplan book to study with. She told me about personal statements and what kinds of things I should consider writing about. Natalie described the process of how one applies to physical therapy school and how to stay on track with what you need to complete. She warned me that I should look at pre-requisite courses  early on so I will have all or most of them completed before applying. Various schools have slightly different pre-requisite courses so it is beneficial to look at early.
4. Summarize any insights from the interview that might be helpful in your academic or career preparation.
   • We discussed what a typical day in graduate school in physical therapy school was like which was interesting and fun to hear about. I always enjoy hearing about the future and I am so excited to be a physical therapist. She advised that I shouldn’t stress about it and keep doing what I am doing with my classes and research. We also discussed shadowing opportunities. I am extremely happy that I got to talk to her since she gave me so much advice and I am lucky to have her and the other physical therapists I work with as mentors.

1. Describe your involvement with this organization
   • I am a student researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in the Neuromuscular Physical Therapy Outpatient Clinic. I assist other therapists in therapy sessions, data collection and organization, and video recording. We work with children with various neuromuscular disorders. We also visit near by schools to collect control data for various studies. I have been volunteering there for the past year and I hope to volunteer there until I graduate.
2. Describe what you gained as a result of this experience.
   • I have gained a sufficient amount of knowledge on what research in Physical Therapy is like and what you can do with it. I have also learned a lot about SMA type 1 and Muscular Dystrophy. I have learned to think on my feet and I have become a more confident and organized individual.
3. Describe positive changes to the community as a result of your service experience.
   • By assisting in multiple research studies involving neuromuscular disorders such as SMA and Muscular Dystrophy in children I will be helping children and their families with these disorders.
4. Describe a person with whom you interacted that made a strong impression on you, positive or negative.
   • I work along four different Physical Therapists, Dr. Linda, Lowes, Dr. Katherine Berry, Dr. Natalie Miller, and Dr. Lindsay Alfano. Each one of them have been so kind and helpful to me. They are all truly inspiring women and I hope that I can be a great Physical Therapist like them some day. It is truly helpful to have great mentors to help me through undergrad and eventually to apply to Physical Therapy School.
5. Complete the following sentence: “Because of this service experience, I am__________”
   • Because of this service experience, I am more confident in my goal of becoming a physical therapist and drive to either work with children or the brain injured population. I have learned that I adapt well to new teaching and I am able to accomplish various tasks in timely manner, even if the processes to do so is unfamiliar with me.