During an open house at Wichita State University in March 2006, Rachel Schmidt was introduced to the idea of physical therapy.

While on a tour, she was led to the human anatomy lab, and the tour guide asked her, “You do know we work with cadavers, right?”

In the lab, a group of people were gathered around a cadaver, and someone said, “Grab some gloves and dig in.”

The work looked fascinating to her.

“At that moment I made my decision (to come to WSU) in the cadaver lab,” she said.

That day Schmidt was set up as an exercise science major intent on going into physical therapy. Now a junior, Schmidt plans to apply to WSU’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy program.

She said her goal with physical therapy is to work in the health care field and be an instrument of physical and mental healing used to improve the quality of life one person at a time.

The DPT program is intense, but Schmidt said she’s ready for the challenge.

“It’ll be worth it in the end,” she said.

The three-year program is as difficult as the application process.

Only 32 students are accepted each year. Every applicant must provide a detailed resume that includes their grades, coursework, volunteer work and campus involvement.

After this semester, Schmidt will have completed the prerequisites for the DPT program.

“I will just have to put together all of the nuts and bolts for the application process,” she said.

The process will begin this summer, and she’ll know by fall 2009 if she’s been accepted.

She said she “fell in love” with the people in the program, too. They were a major selling point for her coming to WSU.

“(This is) a wonderful community here,” she said.

When Schmidt first came to WSU, she pulled out a phonebook and called every physical therapy clinic in the yellow pages.

She worked in one of the clinics for more than a year as a rehabilitation aide, doing everything from vacuuming to helping patients. She now works at Wesley Hospital.

“I love hospitals and I would like to work with older people,” she said.

At Wesley, she transports patients, cleans walkers and assists group therapy sessions. One session is called “Joint Camp,” for people with total knee or hip replacements.

Schmidt said physical therapy fits her nature, but the coursework is tough including one year of physics, chemistry, anatomy and physiology. She also had to take trigonometry and statistics.

“I’m a very right-brained person taking a lot of left-brained classes,” she joked.

Schmidt has a Spanish minor because she said it’s essential to know a foreign language in today’s society.

“There’s something to be appreciated of other cultures,” she said.

And she plans to use Spanish to break through language and cultural barriers while working in hospital settings.

“I really like what I see in the hospital, and all of the female physical therapists are short like me, so I fit right in,” she said.

Schmidt has participated in the Student Government Association and served as president for Future Health Care Professionals.

But she said the Student Ambassadors Society is her favorite campus organization because she can interact with incoming students and share her positive experiences with them.

Schmidt isn’t worried about future career opportunities.

“WSU’s PT program prepared 100 percent of their first doctorate graduating class to pass their boards,” she said.

She wants to be a physical therapist in a hospital, but she has searched for rural communities that offer tuition reimbursement for work agreements. She said becoming a traveling physical therapist is also an option.

“There are career opportunities everywhere you turn for PTs as baby boomers are aging,” she said. “And people are always in need of health care.”

Schmidt said her heart and head are focused on the task.

“I will do my best and trust God with the rest,” she said.