From Dream to Reality…

I had an awesome time at Capitol Hill Day. One of my favorite parts was collaboration and comradery with people I respect like-minded professors, physical therapists, and students from across the Florida state. I walked into the reception hall at the Omni with my plate of complimentary breakfast and found myself sitting next to the current FPTA president, the former president, three of my professors, a few practicing therapists, many students, and the Florida Federal Affairs Liaison, Dr. Eva Norman. I got to Capitol Hill Day because Dr. Norman inspired me to attend during her talk at the National Advocacy Dinner last April. Now that I am here, I am so excited to meet her and carry out an important part of the advocacy process. There were many planning meetings and emails leading up to the event, so I got to learn a lot about what we have advocated for in the past, what we would be advocating for on the Hill this time, and the logistics of the day. I felt confident I would be able to represent the motions affecting our profession well. Seeing the Capitol was another awesome part of the event. I had been to DC before but hadn’t had a reason to enter any Capitol Hill buildings. The whole experience was surreal. We got to sit in conference rooms with influential members of the House and Senate, sharing with them real stories of how certain policies and bills would impact our lived experiences as physical therapists and physical therapist students. This is an experience that I would recommend to anyone within the physical therapy vocation. It’ll inspire you to remember the lasting impact of your practice on others and your potential involvement in the future of your profession. I can’t wait to see everyone again at the next state advocacy day!

Lily Catron is a third-year DPT Student at Florida Gulf Coast University. She has become very interested in advocating for her profession in the last year. She is the current Vice Chair for the FPTA’s Student Special Interest Group, a group in which she has had the opportunity to provide advocacy and career-related events to students across Florida state. She also received the Steven Levine Grant for the House of Delegates this past summer, which allowed her to attend Capitol Hill Day on the same weekend. Lily is very grateful to have been able to experience what she has so far, and she can’t wait to do more with her degree and career.