Featured Alumna - July 2019

It's hard to believe that I graduated from CCHS 14 years ago! I look back fondly on my four years there. It certainly doesn't seem that long ago that I was balancing equations in Dr. Kuipers' chemistry class, computing the area beneath a curve in Dr. Roose's calculus class, or playing trumpet in band with Ms. Root. Although each day was full of new challenges, these teachers played a major role in preparing me for my future. They brought excitement to the subjects they were teaching and challenged us how to view each area with a Christian worldview.

Since graduation, I attended Trinity Christian College where I majored in biology and minored in Chemistry. Afterwards, I received my Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2012 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2014, I married my husband, Dustin, and we just recently had a son, Oliver. For the past four years, I have worked at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Neuro Day Rehab Center in Homewood, IL (formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). We provide rehab services to patients after neurological injuries or diseases such as stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's Disease. Each day is spent teaching patients how to regain functions such as standing, walking, and using wheelchairs so they can be as independent as possible in their home and community.

One particularly exciting part of my job is the opportunity to network with local schools to create new equipment to improve our training capabilities as therapists. Two years ago I began a project with five students from Northwestern School of Engineering to address improved wheelchair skills training. Learning wheelies requires significant repetitions and can be dangerous to both the patient and treating therapist. Any mistake could tip a wheelchair and cause injury. Through collaboration with the engineering students, we were able to develop the "Alligator Tail," a harness device that attaches to the back of a wheelchair. It allows the patient to perform a wheelie, but stops the chair from tipping too far back, preventing any possible injury. The device was patented in June of 2019. Engineers from Shirley Ryan AbilityLab are working toward developing an updated model for future use with patients.