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2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Essay My name is Emily Berger and I’m a high school senior that will be attending college in the fall of 2014. I have chosen to pursue a career in the field of physical therapy because of my experience with a volunteer position. This past summer I volunteered in the Advanced Physical Therapy Clinic at Dr. Manoogian and Dr. Guru’s office in Mount Dora, Florida to make sure physical therapy was the field for me. I did not want to worry about wasting a lot of money towards a college degree if it wasn’t a career I could see myself enjoying for the rest of my life. My mom inspired me to do my volunteer work. We both agreed that it would be a good idea to get experience in the physical therapy field before I go to college. We made a phone call to the office and they said it would be a pleasure to have a volunteer in the clinic. The week that school got out for the year of 2013, I began to work in the clinic right away. I am grateful to my mom for motivating me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new because I have discovered great things along the way. A lot of effort was required to do my volunteer work. The clinic is very busy so I always have to be on my feet. I volunteered from 8AM-5PM, Monday through Friday. The mornings mainly consisted of filing away the therapist’s notes into the patient’s files. After the filing was done, I would “shadow” behind the therapists and assist them with various tasks. I retrieved hot and cold packs for patients by retrieving them out of the clinic’s back room and putting them on the patient’s injuries, then returning the packs once the timers went off. I cleaned the beds once the patients were finished with treatment by spraying them with a disinfecting cleaner and wiping them down to keep the area hygienic. I showed patients how to perform their basic exercises to improve better ranges of motion for whatever condition they had by doing it with them. For example,