Throughout all four years of my undergraduate career, I have been a member of the Pre-Physical/Occupational Therapy (Pre-PT/OT) Club on campus. I knew coming into college that I had a strong desire to become a physical therapist (PT) and because I basically had zero knowledge about what it takes to be a successful applicant for graduate schools, I immediately sought this club on campus. After attending the monthly meetings and participating in as many activities as possible my freshman year, I decided to apply for the secretary position of the executive board to increase my leadership skills. Once I got the position and started learning more about the club behind the scenes, I realized I wanted to have an even bigger impact for this organization and its members in the years to come. As a result, I became the President of the club my junior year and continued in this role during my senior year. Looking back, I never would have thought I would be leading a club and helping others become successful applicants for their desired schools and ultimately profession, but I am so grateful for all this experience has taught me. Although it has come with its challenges, it has also been very rewarding to see growth in the members and be someone they can contact with any and all questions.
As the Secretary of the Pre-PT/OT Club, I was in charge of attending all club meetings, taking notes of the information covered, tracking attendance, providing ideas on social activities and meeting topics, and being a responsible individual that all club members could trust and confront with questions and concerns. This was the first time that I officially worked on a "team," the executive board of the club, during my college experience. It was also the first time I was introduced to formal roles and their importance in creating a well-rounded, successful team. By each person on our executive board holding certain responsibilities and in charge of specific tasks, the work that needed to be accomplished was done so more efficiently and with less stress. For example, the President of our club is in charge of preparing and running all meetings. Because it would be hard to take notes and lead a meeting at the same time, the Secretary is responsible for this task. As a result, each person does their individual part to create a team that reaches its goals. A team exists for a reason, and I was able to realize this firsthand through this experience. As a result, I have met Level 1 of Teams, “identifies various types of roles within group and team settings.”
It was also through being the Secretary of this organization, which was really my first experience with leading others in a formal way, that I learned many things about myself as an individual leader and team member. Some of these include that I like to take charge of groups of people, am willing to listen and cooperate with others, understand that others may have opinions and ideas that are different than my own but equally valuable, and enjoy the social aspect of leading. This experience was a great opportunity to help me become comfortable with working on a team and sharing duties between individuals. Thus, I believe this experience helped me to meet Level 2 of Teams, “practices group member skills and abilities to work together toward a common goal.” Each board member, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Volunteer Coordinator, held their own individual duties and completed their tasks to meet the common goal of educating the club members about the field of physical/occupational therapy through planning different events and meeting topics. I realized that one person cannot physically run an entire club by him or herself, rather it takes a group of organized, determined, passionate people who have a purpose of wanting to accomplish a similar goal. I believe being on the executive board of this club, specifically the Secretary, will benefit me in my future career as a physical therapist where I will be part of a medical team and need to seek the advice of other health professionals to best treat my patients. I may not always be at the top of the leadership team, but my work and opinions still hold weight, especially when advocating for my patients and looking out for their best interest.
Being the President of this organization required more time, dedication, and motivation than I had originally anticipated. Thankfully, I have a passion for the field of PT/OT and desire to share this passion with others, which was my primary goal in being the President of this club. Not only did I want to share my love for this profession, but I also wanted to inform other students how to become the best applicants they possibly could be and explain what this profession really entails. As the President, my tasks included setting up and running the club meetings (see below for an example of a meeting outline), updating the club's Facebook page, organizing communication within the executive board, and being the main contact for the club if anyone had questions or concerns. I believe my biggest challenge in being the president was trying to recruit more members to the club. During my first year as the President, our club meetings often had poor turn out with only 5-10 people attending on average despite over 80 people being active on the club's Facebook page. I tried to overcome this hurdle by speaking to two classes, Introduction to PT/OT and Introduction to Exercise Science, but this only resulted in a few more members. I then took an extra step and asked the professors within the Exercise Science department to promote this club, which I believe had a great impact, for the number of students attending our meetings have significantly grown in the past year. Throughout this time, we have been able to inform our committed club members on various topics such as the GRE, the application system for PT/OT schools, volunteer and observation hours in the Mankato area, and even speaking to graduate students and graduate admissions counselors. It has been great to see many of the club members have an increase in confidence of their knowledge of the therapy profession and more excited about their future in treating patients.
Another obstacle that I faced being the President of this club was communication and organization within the executive board, specifically during my first year in this position. At this time, the board consisted of me, the Vice President (who graduated in December and didn't participate during the spring), Secretary, Treasurer, and two Volunteer Coordinators (again, one of them graduated in December and left as well). First of all, it was difficult to have two less board members to help plan different events, such as volunteer and social activities, and recruit club members. This is something that needs to be considered in the application process to prevent less stress for everyone else. A couple of our board members also only seemed to hold their position to "boost their resume." This is understandable to a certain degree, but also makes it difficult to truly impact others and reach a common goal of growing the club and sharing our passion for the field of therapy. There was also some miscommunication among board members about their responsibilities that threw in an extra curve ball. I tried to work through these challenges by being an example of someone who was invested in the club and desired a good outcome along with reminding these individuals of how great this opportunity was to influence others and grow a community of pre-professional students. I think the biggest lesson I learned from these scenarios is that not everything always goes as imagined and sometimes I will have to cooperate and work with people who do things differently than myself. I have to learn that this is okay as long as we are all striving towards the common goal and being true to the purpose of the club. In the future, I believe it is important to articulate this message and have everyone on the same page of what it really means to be a board member of this organization. Without each individual contributing and accomplishing their tasks, the stress increases and the collaboration between members and impact on others decreases. I think this demonstrates the importance of different roles in a group and what can happen if individuals are not committed to carrying out their part. As a result of this experience and reflection, I have fulfilled Level 3 of Teams, “reflects upon roles within group and team settings.”
Since I have been the President of this organization for two years, I have had substantial influence on its trajectory and influence on other students. I have tried to use what I have learned through different classes and personal experiences to lead them on the path to success. I have greatly appreciated holding this role and getting to meet new people and be part of an organization that could ultimately influence one’s career. Being part of a “formal” executive team has also been a great learning experience and has helped me to reflect on how I will lead in the future. To become the best leader and use what I have learned from my role on the Pre-PT/OT board, I have developed my own leadership philosophy to guide my actions in future groups. As a result, I have met Level 4 of Teams, “articulates a general leadership philosophy to guide future collaboration within groups.” My leadership philosophy is as follows: I will be guided by my leadership values (knowledge, experience, and emotional intelligence) and utilize my strengths of achiever and believer to help reach common goals within a group. I will be passionate about what I do and have an open mind and willingness to learn from others. I will appreciate different ways of leading and adapt my own leadership style based on the needs of the people and the particular goal to be met. Above all, I will enjoy the journey of leading and learn from my successes and failures to be even better the next time.