I started house/pet sitting for family and friends and quickly expanded my services to others. I have maintained homes with pools, hot tubs, barns, and gardens for people who were away. I have cared for numerous horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens. This experience has helped me become independent and further develop my self-discipline and time management skills.

Through the physical therapy program at Springfield College I went to various clinical settings and gained experience treating patients by educating patients, taking vitals, planning and administering exercise plans, writing documentation, and using modalities. Through this experience I gained skills in time management, prioritization, team work, communication, and field experience.

Examples of sites I went to include stroke group and the onsite orthopedic clinic at Springfield College, Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, ServiceNet, and ATI.

I worked with children who had varying degrees of impairments to improve their athleticism through power and strength training. I learned to be flexible with my exercise plans for the session because different children had varying exercise responses. I was able to effectively communicate with the children I worked with and utilized my creativity so they would not get bored during the session.

I helped patients walk around their hospital wing to enrich their hospital stay and keep them active

I stabilized less experienced riders and riders who needed more assistance while on the horse, motivated riders by talking with them and keeping them engaged, and guided the horse’s movement through series of exercises for rider's benefit. I will never forget this experience. I learned how to communicate with children who may be frustrated, angry, or even scared. I was able to work with the team of people helping the riders to create a positive experience for all involved.