Minority Scholarship Award

The CPTA Education Fund is pleased to announce the award of the 2011 Minority Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Katherine Van Deveire.  “Katy”, a DPT student at the University of Connecticut with completion expected in May of 2011, was rewarded for her high academic achievement, her strong leadership as President of the Student American Physical Therapy Association at the University of Connecticut and her ability to discuss her goals in relationship to the advocate, education, evidenced based practice and provider of choice elements of the Vision 2020.  She organized the continuing education in October of 2010 “Lower Extremity Muscle Function: Beyond the anatomical Model” presented by Dr. David Tiberio, PhD, PT, OCS raising money for the CPTA Direct Access Campaign.  Currently out of state for clinical experience, Katy, an out of state Asian international student from Canada, considers it a great honor and achievement to be the recipient of the Minority PT Student Scholarship and appreciates the way this will contribute to the financial challenges she has faced as an international student at UCONN.

John O’Donnell Scholarship

The CPTA Education Fund is pleased to announce the award of the 2011 John O’Donnell Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Jaclyn Cotreau.  Jaclyn, a DPT student at Sacred Heart University with completion expected in May of 2012, was rewarded for her high academic achievement, her strong leadership presenting at the CPTA Southwestern district meeting on meditation techniques and their place in physical therapy.  Jaclyn has actively participated in CPTA fall conferences in the past and will present at the October 2011 Fall Conference.  Jaclyn wrote convincingly about how she sees herself supporting the “pillars of Vision 2020 citing examples of evidenced based decisions, direct-access screening, referral and accountable best practice as well as her professional expectations of herself to advocate for the professional and the public’s access to the profession.  She states: “I will become a practitioner of choice and autonomous in practice by being self-determined, professional and respectful”.

PTA Student Scholarship

The CPTA Education Fund is pleased to announce the award of the 2011 PTA Student Scholarship in the amount of $500 to Matthew Taylor a PTA student at Norwalk Community College with completion expected in May of 2012.  Matt was rewarded for his strong academic performance in preparatory work at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and his unusually diverse and strong participation in professional and community activities including a Medical Mission Trip to Ecuador and a number of volunteer activities with youth in both Ohio and here in Newtown Ct.  Of note is his continued work with the Institute for Rare and Neglected Diseases with Dr. Jeff Rohde where his goal is to bring the physical therapy ideas of prevention and promotion of good health habits into the Institute’s activities and work in South America.  In January 2011, Matt became the 1^st President of a PTA Club at Norwalk Community College and he identified ways he will use his leadership skills and “passion” to develop opportunities for PTA students to grow in their abilities to contribute to the Vision 2020 goals of the profession.