MPTA would like to recognize Susan as the MPTA 2017 February Student Spotlight!   

• Nominee, Missouri Physical Therapy Association Outstanding Student Award (2017)
• Chi Sigma Alpha Athletic Honor Society (2014)
• Rockhurst University Women’s Basketball Team Captain (2013-2014)
• Rockhurst University Dean’s List (2010-2014)
• Rockhurst University Athletic Scholarship – Women’s Basketball (2010-2014)
• Rockhurst University Loyola Scholarship (2010-2014)
• Rockhurst University Dowling Scholarship (2010-2014)
  

 

Gagnon K, Hohenadel S, Sabet A, Tucker J, Galloway J. (2016). GoBabyGo! How modified toy ride-on cars support DEC recommended practices by providing accessible, early social mobility for children with or at risk for developmental disabilities. Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices Monograph Series No. 2: Environment.

 

Gagnon K, Hohenadel S, Pecaut M, Schulte D. Ready…Set…GoBabyGo! A two-part, hands-on workshop to modify toy ride-on cars for children with mobility challenges. Missouri Physical Therapy Association Spring Conference, concurrent session. Kansas City, MO. April 2016. 

 

Research:

Student Investigator. #PropelHer: A student-led initiative to encourage women leadership in rehab therapy. Rockhurst University, Department of Physical Therapy Education. 2015-present.

 

Service:

• Founding Student Coordinator and Project Manager, Variety KC GoBabyGo! (2014-present)
• Student Physical Therapist, Kansas City Cares ProBono Clinic (2014-present)
• Student Physical Therapist, Rockhurst University Community Balance Screenings (2015-2016)

Membership in Professional Organization:

• American Physical Therapy Association (2014-present)
• Missouri Physical Therapy Association (2014-present)
• APTA Academy of Pediatric PT (2014-present)
• APTA Section on Health Policy and Administration Member (2016-present)

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From the first day of my DPT education I found myself always searching for my something “more”, or the way I could define my experience and my future as a clinician. That something “more” presented itself during my first year of DPT school, when I learned about GoBabyGo, a program to modify toy ride-on cars to provide low-tech power mobility for children with mobility impairments. I learned that there was no GoBabyGo chapter in Kansas City, so my classmates and I decided to start a local chapter, and I took on the role as the lead student coordinator and project manager. By helping build the Variety KC GoBabyGo! program from the ground up, I found the tip of the iceberg of my something more. Since beginning the program less than two years ago, Variety KC GoBabyGo has modified nearly 100 cars for children with special needs in our community. Through this work, I discovered my passion: giving back to a community that has given so much to me. My DPT education has afforded me the ability and the experiences to give a healing hand to all, and to fight for the right for all those in need to receive the treatment they need. Through GoBabyGo!, my work at the Kansas City Cares ProBono Clinic, and my clinical experiences, I believe I have just barely scratched the service of my potential to use my education to change the world. I am grateful to Rockhurst University and all of my clinical instructors for supplying me with the tools and education to grow as a person and clinician in this fie. Moving forward, I will focus my career on helping everyone of all abilities, both physically and financially, reach their full potential.

 

- Susan

 

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