Name: Meg Grant 379275_613522515340940_1039317263_n

Major: Physical Therapy

Minors: Honors, Psychology

Hometown: Akron, NY

Undergrad Graduation Year: 2015

Graduate Graduation Year: 2017

Favorite Girl Scout Cookie: Samoas

 

5 Things You May Not Know About Meg Grant

  1. I spent a semester studying in England during my sophomore year. While there, we also traveled to Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, and France. I will forever be thankful and grateful that I had such an incredible opportunity at Naz.
  2. I play oboe – the very rare and ever elusive physical therapist/musician combo. At the moment, I’m working on re-teaching myself to play piano. I had started to learn in 2nd grade and then stopped once I started high school which I will forever regret.
  3. I have worked in greenhouses or nurseries since I was about 15. My uncle used to own a greenhouse so I started there with him and loved it. I love plants and trees and gardening.
  4. My goal in life is to visit all of the major league ballparks in the country and all of the national parks. I love baseball and I love hiking.
  5. Unicorns are my favorite animal. Yes,  you read that right. If they’re cool enough for Scotland, they’re cool enough for me.

orchestra2

How have your experiences at Naz challenged your expectations about what college would be like?

Since I started college almost 5 years ago that’s a hard question to answer, haha. I guess I expected to have a lot more free time than I did. When you watch college kids in tv shows or movies they’re always hanging out in their dorm rooms or on the quad or taking road trips across the country (which, by the way, no one I know has done). I have been so so busy for the past five years but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The things I’ve learned, memories I’ve made, and friendships I’ve created in class and in lab and at work and in orchestra could not be traded for the world. Naz gave me the freedom and support to explore any and all passions I’ve had and if you had told me at the beginning of my freshman year that I would have studied abroad, finished my honors minor, played oboe on campus, completed multiple on-campus and off-campus pediatric clinicals, and worked for the admissions student blog, I never would have believed that I could have packed all of that into 5 years of college.

 

How has your time at Naz sparked your passion?

I always knew that I wanted to work with kids but I insisted that it was going to be in an urban setting and I would never, ever go back to the small-town, middle-of-nowhere places I grew up in. I now know without a doubt that I want to work in rural pediatrics. For my first off-campus clinical experience, I was all set to go to a nursing home until I got an email from the clinical ed coordinator on-campus saying she had an early intervention placement available in Orleans County. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Orleans County, its largest town is less than 6,000. I absolutely loved it. There is such an incredible lack of access to health services in rural America one person can have an incredible impact.; kids and families deserve the same quality of care and access to care regardless of where they live.

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What kind of clinicians do PT majors participate in?

So there are two types of clinics here at Naz: on-campus and off-campus. On-campus clinics are completed during classes so let’s say for example I have neuro class for 2 hours in the morning and then in the afternoon I treat a patient in neuro clinic which is really awesome because I get to take the skills I learned that day and integrate them into a real-life situation. The on-campus clinics we run include wellness clinics, neuro clinic, ortho clinic, multiple sclerosis clinic, prosthetics clinic, and Kid’s Club, a pediatric clinic.

Off-campus clinics are full-time 8-week experiences in a setting of your choosing. My first summer I worked in a pediatric home care setting in Orleans County and right now I’m in an outpatient ortho clinic in Maine.

 

What does a typical day in the life look like in your major?

In the undergraduate portion, I had what I would consider a pretty typical college schedule here at Naz: an even mix of liberal arts and science classes for about 15 – 20 hours a week. Things change considerably in grad school though. For the most part, I’m in class from about 8 or 9 in the morning until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon with lecture classes happening in the morning and then lab or clinic happening in the afternoon.

 

What are the benefits of participating in the physical therapy (PT) program at Nazareth College?

The biggest benefit to me is the PT program at Naz has pro bono student-run clinics. So, as well as providing a phenomenal service to individuals in the community who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access PT services, I have been getting hands-on practice with real-life clients since my second semester of grad school.

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What is your advice for incoming freshman in your department?

Explore interests outside of your major. The fact that I completed the honors program, studied abroad in England, and continue to play oboe on campus makes me very well-rounded and therefore, in my mind, a better clinician. Also, once you’re in the grad portion of the program, you spend what feels like every waking moment of your day with your class. As great as they are, I really value the friendships I have outside of physical therapy and spending time with my other friends gives me a much needed mental break from PT.

Read more of our I Am series here:

I AM Occupational Therapy