WPT Fund Awards $23,500 in Scholarships
The Wisconsin Physical Therapy Fund was founded in 1969 as the charitable arm of APTA Wisconsin providing scholarships and grants to our chapter members. Since 2000 we have awarded $300,000 in scholarships and over $86,000 in grants. This Fall we are thrilled to be able to award a total of $23,500 in scholarships to all of the 17 students who completed applications. All of the students are APTA Wisconsin members attending CAPTE accredited DPT or PTA programs in Wisconsin and have demonstrated financial need.
Wisconsin Physical Therapy Scholars Awards:
Sophie Bierdemann, SPTA attending MATC
Brooke Costa, SPT – attending Marquette University
Seth Polfus, SPT – attending UW-La Crosse
Amanda Rose, SPT attending Carroll University
Charlene Schmidt, SPT – attending UW-La Crosse
Lizzie Schuetz, SPT – attending Marquette University
Aubrie Taerud, SPTA – attending Bryant and Stratton College
Jake Voss, SPT – attending Belling College
Emma Vosters, SPT attending Marquette University
Briana Wasielewski, SPT – attending Bellin College
Chris Crivello Community Service Award
Ari Loughlin, SPT - Concordia University Wisconsin
Emily Ziegler, SPT – Bellin College
Chris Crivello Community Service Award – Honorable Mention
Matayah Pethke, SPT – Concordia University Wisconsin
Jenna Chausse, SPT – Concordia University Wisconsin
Tracy Rasor Sports Medicine Award
Ethan Taylor, SPT – University of Wisconsin Madison
Tracy Rasor Sports Medicine Award – Honorable Mention
Victoria Salaba, SPT – University of Wisconsin Madison
DEI Advocacy Award
Nadine Aconda, SPT – Marquette University
It is such a privilege to be able to honor these students and provide some financial assistance. We could not do that without the support of our generous donors. We would especially like to thank your Legacy Society members who have helped our Endowment grow to over $180,000. For more information and to donate please visit https://aptawi.org/wpt-fund/
After the announcement above can we have a Click Here to learn more about the amazing accomplishments of the specialty award winners sort of thing and then have that link to the information below????
Chris Crivello Community Service Award (given to a student who demonstrates not only high academic standards, but also a commitment to community involvement):
Ari Loughlin, SPT - Ari is a student in the DPT program at Concordia University Wisconsin. She has demonstrated commitment to service within and beyond the physical therapy community for the last 6 years and are far too numerous to list today. Some highlights include being a Miss Amazing Buddy for which she was paired with a girl with special needs to help her prepare for her pageant and activities throughout the day, volunteering for the Autism Society Bike Camp where she helped children with disabilities learn how to ride bikes, and volunteering for Balance, Inc where she interacted with adults who have special needs and led an exercise program for them. She also created two questions for APTA’s Opioid Toolkit and has attended multiple APTA Wisconsin events including state conference and Legislative Day. Ari has demonstrated a significant amount of leadership in her service as well. She presented research poster at the 2023 APTA Wisconsin Fall Conference and she has served the Concordia Association of Student Physical Therapists as Secretary, Vice President, and Social Committee Chair. We are pleased to present Ari a Chris Crivello Community Service Award and a $2000 scholarship.
Emily Ziegler, SPT- Emily is a student in the DPT program at Bellin College. She also has demonstrated consistent outstanding service as well as leadership. She served as Team Captain for Bellin College at the Alzheimer’s Walk of Green Bay in 2022 and 2023 as well as the Team Captain for the Arthritis Walk of Green Bay in 2023. From 2023-2024 In her role as Vice Chair of APTA Wisconsin’s Student Special Interest Group she attended APTA Wisconsin Board of Director meetings, and planned and hosted the Motion is Lotion 5K event at our Fall Conference. Now as the current Chair of the Student SIG her responsibilities have expanded and include planning the Student Conclave. She is also currently serving as the APTA Wisconsin Student Council Representative and recently attended the House of Delegates. Emily also volunteers for Exceptional Equestrians assisting with hippotherapy, as well as other local causes. We are pleased to present Emily with a Chris Crivello Community Service Award and a $2000 scholarship.
Matayah Pethke, SPT - Matayah is a student in the DPT program at Concordia University Wisconsin. She has participated in APTA Wisconsin events including Fall Conference and Legislative Day. She also has been a podium presenter at an Evidence in Motion Symposium and has participated in various research projects. Mataya is the current President of the Concordia Association of Student Physical Therapists and has been active in professional activities and community service throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies. She has volunteered for Meals on Wheels, high school diversity day, DPT connection videos, trauma presentation pictures, Milwaukee river clean-up day, massage clinics, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Teen Nights, as well as CUW visit days and orientation. We are pleased to present Matayah an honorable mention for the Chris Crivello Community Service Award and a $1500 Scholarship.
Jenna Chausse, SPT - Jenna is student in the DPT program at Concordia University Wisconsin where she has been a volunteer research assistant for the last 3 years and participated in a poster event on campus. She is a board member of the Concordia Association of Student Physical Therapists as well as of the APTA Wisconsin Student Special Interest Group. Additionally, Jenna has been actively engaged in our state chapter attending the 2023 Fall Conferences as well as Legislative Day. She also volunteers for various community events including YMCA exercise classes for people with Parkinson’s Disease. Jenna does all this while also serving as co-captain of the CUW Women’s Volleyball Team, tutoring on campus, serving as a personal care working to a young child and as a volleyball coach for the I AM Volleyball Club. We are pleased to present Jenna an honorable mention for the Chris Crivello Community Service Award and a $1500 Scholarship.
Tracy Rasor Sports Medicine Award (given to a student who has demonstrated an interest in sports medicine physical therapy):
Ethan Taylor, SPT - Ethan is a student in the DPT program at the University of Wisconsin Madison where he also received his BS in Exercise and Movement Science as well as minors in Athletic Healthcare and Promoting Activity for Diverse Ability. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, a Certified Personal Trainer, a USA Level 1 Weightlifting Coach, and a Certified Emergency Responder to the Athlete. Ethan has pursued multiple elective courses specific to rehabilitation of the athlete. He has sports medicine related work experience including creating and coaching group fitness classes acting as the head strength coach for several club sports teams. He also has numerous sports medicine related volunteer experiences. Most impressively, Ethan created an AASPT College and Pro Special Interest Group series entitled “Therex Thursday”, a bimonthly social media post aimed at providing multiple exercises that could be implemented for specific athletic injuries. He is also the lead student researcher on two research projects. In the Department of Orthopedic and Sports Medicine he is working with Drs. Tim McGuine, Erin Hammer, Allison Brooks and Mike Joachim on the effect of exterior helmet padding on concussion severity in high school football players. In the Badger Athletic Performance Lab he is working with Drs. Keith Knurr, Danieal Cobian and Brian Heiderscheidt on a project for which he was responsible for the abstract entitled “Two-Dimensional Video Analysis: A clinical Tool for Tracking Recovery of Knee Biomechanics during Running Post-Aclr”. This abstract was submitted for presentation at CMS in February. Ethan has showed consistent commented to continuing education related to sports medicine physical therapy and plans to attend a sports residency. Additionally, his future goals are to be the best sports PT in the state and to eventually serve on the APTA Wisconsin Executive Board to continue to implement policy that benefits both our patients and therapists. We are thrilled to present Ethan a Tracy Rasor Sports Medicine Award and a $2000 scholarship.
Victoria Salaba, SPT - Victoria is a student in the DPT Program at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has certifications both in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test and Emergency Response for the Athlete. Victoria is involved in two research projects as well. In the Badger Athletic Performance Lab she is working with Dr. Dan Cobian and Dr. Keith Knurr on the influence of visual disruption and dual-task on single leg vertical hop performance in individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction. In the Center for Interprofessional Education working with Dr. Jill Thein-Nissenbaum on the perceptions of athletic training and physical therapy students in terms of roles and responsibilities of the interprofessional team. Victoria has immersed herself in the Sports Medicine field through her academic pursuits attending courses at CSM as well as her participation in the College and Professional Sports SIG mentorship program through the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy. She also has worked in a variety of sports settings servicing as a coach for multiple sports teams. Lastly, Victoria participated in an abroad experience partnering with the US Embassy and Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan Belize to help embassy employees, to education local students on pain neuroscience and meeting with the US Ambassador to discuss physical therapy, healthcare, and pain neuroscience. We are pleased to present Victoria with an honorable mention for the Tracy Rasor Sports Medicine Award and a $1500 Scholarship.
DEI Advocacy Award (given to a student who demonstrates activities that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the physical therapy profession):
Nadine Acorda, SPT - Nadine is a student in the DPT program at Marquette University. She is currently partaking in a self-study elective that focuses on multicultural studies, brainstorming and laying out the foundation to hopefully start a student DEI Committee, and speaking to local schools about physical therapy. She also serves as a student clinical and the Director of Patient Relations at Marquette’s Pro Bono PT Clinic. In this role she is able to practice providing care to patients of all socioeconomic and cultural background and serve as a bridge to any other needs that they may have through her leadership role. In her clinical education experiences, she has helped her CI brainstorm ideas on how to identify and navigate through barriers to PT that ae influenced by cultural beliefs and socioeconomic status with the goal of improving the no-show and cancellation rates. Nadine has also been involved in researching federally qualified health centers that provide PT services across Wisconsin and in different states with the purpose of advocating for the need for PT services within these centers including staffing generalist and multilingual physical therapists. This will hopefully culminate in a platform presentation at CSM in February. We are thrilled to present Nadine Acorda a DEI Advocacy Award and a $2000 scholarship.