May 22, 2024
Future students in Pearl River Community College’s Physical Therapist Assistant program will soon have a new scholarship opportunity thanks to the generosity of former PTA students and supporters.
The PRCC PTA program recently hosted the 30th Anniversary Alumni Reunion event at the Dr. Cecil Burt Special Events Room on the Forrest County Campus.
It was a night of celebration, food and fellowship, according to Tracie Thornton, PTA Program Director.
More than $2,000 was raised for the scholarship account.
“We launched the Excellence in Physical Therapy PTA Scholarship as a PRCC Development Foundation Scholarship in October, 2023,” said Thornton. “The current faculty and I have watched many of the students struggle to get by when trying to get through the PTA Program, and it was one of our biggest goals to provide annual scholarships to help our PTA students. The program is hard enough without having to also worry about struggling to pay rent or buy books or even pay for food.”
All past PRCC PTA graduates were invited to the reunion.
Said Thornton, “We had several current and past students speak, including the first PTA class president, Susan Baughman Phillips. We held a Silent Auction to raise funds. Additionally, William Carey University’s new PTA to DPT Bridge Program sponsored the event meal and their director, Dr. Judy Prehn, spoke about their new program.”
According to Thornton, who has been program director for three years now, clinical instructors and Physical Therapists who have worked alongside PTA alumni took part in the celebration.
Thornton has been working full time in the PTA program for the past eight years and started as an adjunct instructor 27 years ago.
“Our program at PRCC is the oldest in the state and graduated the first PTAs in the state 30 years ago,” she said.
PTA instructors are Audrey Jackson and La’Brista Sylvester. Program administrative assistant is Cheryl Breland.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is a two-year program of study that prepares students to work within the practice of physical therapy under the supervision of a physical therapist, according to the PRCC website.
PTAs are employed in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, extended care facilities, home health agencies and other health care settings. Admission to the program is selective and competitive. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, students earn the Associate in Applied Science degree and. are eligible for state licensing.
-Monetary donations for the scholarship fund can be made atwww.prcc.edu/alumni/donateby selecting General Scholarships and placing “Excellence in Physical Therapy Scholarship” in the comment box.
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Article by Chuck Abadie. Photography by Kaitlyn Jones.
