Physical therapy school is tough; that’s true no matter where you go. You’ll be challenged more than you were before and in ways you never were before—academically, intellectually, emotionally, existentially…the list goes on and gets even more dramatic. However, when you go to PT school at Regis and you’re living in Colorado, life gets simultaneously better and tougher. The upside is that you have a seemingly endless outdoor playground to frolic around on, and the downside is that you can’t spend all of your time doing that.

Some of the Class of 2019 conquering a weekend hike

I grew up in Cleveland—the land of Lebron, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and the river that caught fire. Even though Cleveland rocks, Denver stole my heart pretty much as soon as the plane touched down. And, my first winter living in Colorado has proven again and again that this is where I want to be! Living near mountains provides the perfect pasture for snow bunnies to hop around with skis, snowboards, snowshoes, or just in hiking boots.  It seems as if the sun is always out (a welcome change from the dreary Midwest), and the motivation to go outside and get active is hard to ignore—especially with the free outdoor rentals at Regis!  If mountains aren’t your thing, Denver is a vibrant metropolis filled with fantastic local restaurants, breweries, museums, parks, and more. As biomechanics professor Dr. Erika Nelson-Wong likes to say, “it’s a beautiful day in Colorado,” and Erika is almost never wrong.

Katherine and her classmates climb a 14er–Mt. Bierstadt!

So: the mountains are great, Denver is  a super cool city, and…what anatomy exam?? Like I said, PT school at Regis will challenge you in a myriad of ways, one of the foremost being time management. As much as I love exploring the city and the outdoors, there are days when I feel like I barely see that enduring sunlight. Classes are long and the work can be arduous. That’s why I’m pretty sure the phrase “work hard, play hard” was invented by a former Regis graduate. We work incredibly hard to become the best clinicians we can be, but we also know that work-life balance is precious and  we must strive to maintain it. On our first day of orientation, foot/ankle master Dr. Tom McPoil urged us to take one day out of the week to not prioritize school, but instead to prioritize everything else. I personally take every Saturday to not even think about school; I go hiking or for a long run or have a movie marathon or explore downtown or literally anything else—but I forget about school for a day. Then, the rest of the week, I have the energy and motivation to focus on school.

A Halloween study break

While Saturday is a saving grace, weekdays aren’t totally lost to school and studying. No matter how interesting the class is or how captivating the professor is (which they all are!), sometimes it’s tough to sit in class all day and then go home and study. There are many evenings where a group of classmates will check out a new brewery, get some air at the trampoline gym, play pick-up sports, or explore the restaurants on nearby Tennyson Street. Most Denver museums have free admission days once a month; I love checking them out!  Regardless of what your hobbies are, it’s easy to find something you will love.

Celebrating Josh’s (front and center) birthday at Sky Zone last week with the classmates!

I think Regis is wonderfully unique in that we are encouraged to embody the concept of “cura personalis.” You’ll be intimately familiar with this phrase by the end of your first semester, as we are often reminded that one small part of the body is tightly intertwined with the rest of the body, the mind, and the spirit. We learn to be physical therapists who practice this care for the entire person with our patients and with ourselves. I know that I will not be the best physical therapist I can be if I don’t reward my hard work with some well-deserved time off. Most of my classmates, including myself, were fortunate enough to have multiple options of schools to choose from, and I’m sure I could have gone to any school I was accepted to and worked hard to succeed. However, I came to Regis—and to Colorado—because I knew I would learn how to become an outstanding physical therapist while also becoming the best possible version of myself. And after countless hikes, one 14er climbed, falling on my face 6 times while skiing, 2 excursions to local breweries, 1 snowshoeing experience, 1 trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens, and meeting some of the best friends I could ask for, I’ll say with 100% confidence that I made the right choice.

Ugly Holiday Sweater party after finishing first semester