Trish Wright was 43 years old and knew the time had come to make a change. 聽 For 20 years, she had worked at a Boise, Idaho grocery store, serving customers in the floral department, the deli, and the store鈥檚 cheese island.
鈥淪tanding on a concrete floor for eight hours a day takes a toll, especially when you鈥檝e been doing it nearly half your life鈥� Wright says. 鈥淚 knew it wasn鈥檛 something I wanted to do for another 20 years until I retired. I really wanted a career where I felt like I was making a difference and helping other people. But I didn鈥檛 have any education or training, so I felt stuck.鈥�
One day, Wright鈥檚 father-in-law, a pastor, mentioned that one of his church members had recently completed the Physical Therapist Assistant program at 黑料不打烊. 聽 鈥淚t was the second time in a year that someone had mentioned the PTA program at Carrington, so I decided maybe it was time to check it out and see if it was something I might like,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 visited the campus, sat in on a class, and decided it was something I would not only love, but could do well. After talking with my husband and kids and making sure everyone understood that I would be a lot less available for the next two years, I decided to go for it.鈥� 聽 What Wright accomplished in the ftwo years that followed is a master class in determination. In addition to working 16 to 32 hours a week at the grocery store, she conquered fear and insecurity to graduate with her associate鈥檚 degree in April鈥攁s the Physical Therapist Assistant program valedictorian.
鈥淭he past two years have been life-changing for me,鈥� says Wright, the mother of four daughters. 鈥淔or so many years, going to college was just never on my radar. Except for parent-teacher conferences, I hadn鈥檛 been in a classroom since I graduated high school 25 years earlier. Back then, college didn鈥檛 feel like an option. I married my husband right out of high school, started having kids, and went to work.鈥�
Wright, now 45, says that as soon as she was accepted into the Physical Therapist Assistant program, she started second-guessing her decision. 聽 鈥淚 was petrified,鈥� she admits. 鈥淪ome of the other students in the program were younger than my oldest daughter. I questioned whether I could focus and develop good study skills. The last thing I wanted was to be the old lady in class who couldn鈥檛 keep up. And when the teachers started talking about anatomy, physiology and kinesiology, my greatest hope was that they just wouldn鈥檛 call on me.鈥� 聽 As it turned out, Wright had little to worry about. Her strong organizational and time-management skills, along with a steadfast commitment to completing the program, served her well, even when a last-semester snag nearly jeopardized her April graduation. When the global coronavirus pandemic hit in March, Wright was three weeks into her eight-week clinical rotation at a skilled nursing facility. She was also working 16 hours a week at the grocery store. She was soon forced to make a tough decision.
鈥淭he facility where I was doing my clinical rotation told me that in order to reduce the risk to their patients, I would have to choose between my job at the grocery store and completing my clinical rotation with them,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淥n one hand, my job considered me an essential employee, I鈥檇 been there 22 years, and it paid. On the other, I didn鈥檛 want to lose my clinical and the hours I鈥檇 already invested.鈥�
Wright eventually decided to take a leave of absence from the grocery store to finish her clinical. 聽 鈥淢y husband works, so I was grateful to have options,鈥� Wright says. 鈥淔ortunately, it wasn鈥檛 financially devastating, but we did lose the family health insurance we had through my job for two months. It was a very stressful time for everyone, but I was so close to completing my program that I just stayed focused on my goal. As it worked out, I was able to complete my hours and return to the store after three weeks.鈥� 聽 Now that Wright has graduated and passed the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), she plans to retire from the grocery store once she finds a job in her new profession. Her goal is to land a full-time position in a rehabilitation center and work with patients who are recovering from severe spinal or brain injuries.
鈥淚鈥檓 optimistic and excited about starting a new career, which is something I couldn鈥檛 have said a few years ago,鈥� she acknowledges. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of myself. I鈥檓 one of those people who tends to stay in her comfort zone. I鈥檓 so glad I pushed beyond it.鈥�
Wright says that while her family and friends always believed in her, it took her a while to believe in herself. 聽 鈥淚 may not have been the smartest student in our class, but I was the hardest working,鈥� she says. 鈥淔ailure was not an option. I saw the program as an investment in my future, and I didn鈥檛 want to mess up the opportunity. If someone had told me two years ago I鈥檇 end up being the program valedictorian, I wouldn鈥檛 have believed it. But here we are. In the end, my self-doubt helped fuel my desire to succeed.鈥�
