Michael Young

Hometown: Madison, WI

Undergrad: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Fun fact: I visited 16 states in 30 days during an epic summer road trip.

During the summer of 2014, I found myself in Denver, five hours early for a flight. It was a picturesque day: 82 degrees in the afternoon sun and even more comfortable in the shade. I saw a sign for Regis University and recognized the name as one with a PT program, so I took the nearest exit and walked around campus for the afternoon.  After wandering around the classrooms and watching part of a lacrosse practice, I felt like this was a place I could see myself spending the next three years.

Six months and many applications later, I was back at Regis—this time for an interview. I woke up early on the day and did some yoga in the room of my Airbnb. That’s not my normal routine, but I wanted to do everything in my power to calm my nerves. That morning, yoga took me to my happy place. I put on my suit, threw on my coat and started my three-block walk to campus.

This time on campus, it was cold. After living in Texas for five years, January in Denver made me remember my roots in Madison.  I had made the dangerous 6AM decision to skip my morning coffee; would I lapse into caffeine withdrawal and spend the day with a pounding headache? Or, maybe, would my pumping adrenaline take the place of that necessary stimulant? I worried about it for the next seven hours. It’s funny what really makes you nervous on interview day.

Looking back, I now realize that the interview was the easiest part of the day for me. As soon as I sat down with my interviewer, I knew that Regis was different from the other schools. My interview was a conversation about my past experiences and current hobbies in lieu of the usual discussion of GPA, prerequisite record and knowledge of the PT field. They didn’t ask why a political science major was interested in PT school; they told me how important it was to have people with diverse backgrounds integrated into the profession. They made me feel like my personality and individualism mattered.

The next 24 hours was an emotional roller coaster of second-guessing interview responses, dreaming of an aggressive interviewer who compared me to a chiropractor (gasp!) and an overwhelming feeling of relief and gratitude for the amazing day I had at Regis. As I sat at the Denver airport waiting for my 6AM outbound flight, I started daydreaming about coming back as an actual student. Regis was the school for me and I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. When I got the acceptance email, I knew my life would never be the same. Now, six months into school, I haven’t been proven wrong.

Best of luck with your interviews, candidates! I hope you feel as at home as I did.