Senior Zen Shaw has a lot of passion for healthcare, specifically physical therapy.
“I’ve wanted to pursue a career in sports physical therapy since close to the beginning of my junior year, and my Principles of Health Science teacher Dr. [Kevin] Caizley influenced me to take this route,” Shaw said. “He encouraged me to look into it and if it works out, I’ll owe him my career.
“He thought I would do well in the field due to my ability to be sociable and to focus when the time calls for it.”
Shaw’s mom also supports his plan. She is a speech language pathologist.
“My mother fully supports my decision to do this, as she is a healthcare professional herself and thinks I am more than capable of pursuing this career,” Shaw said.
Along with his future dreams, Shaw also enjoys many other hobbies. He does full-contact sports like boxing and Muay Thai. He also attends a church youth group.
Shaw shares his compassion for the things he loves doing outside of his plans for the medical field.
“I am passionate about writing, reading, music, health science,” Shaw said, “but most importantly, athletics and sports medicine.”
He became very passionate about healthcare at a young age. His own experience with injuries also shaped his dreams to be a physical therapist.
“I’ve grown up around health professionals all my life,” Shaw said. “I’ve also done athletics for most of my life as well. I injured my knees during both my freshman and sophomore years and have had to recover. During my time later as a junior, while not participating in any school athletics, I realized that physical therapy for athletes is very needed and something I would be very good at.”
During the week, Shaw devotes a lot of his time to studying and taking classes that are focused on his pathway and future in healthcare. He is part of the health science clinical rotations, and he has been to the HCA’s physical therapy rotation.
“I got to ask a lot of questions that’ll ultimately help me to reach my goals,” Shaw said. “Outside of school, I have continued to research and look into the specific sports physical therapy field, and I have continued to become more interested in it.”
Since Shaw is in difficult classes he faces some challenges, but he doesn’t let it get in the way of his focus because he knows he’s got to put in the work to achieve his number one goal.
“Physical therapy is a competitive and challenging field to get into and it’s not for everybody, which has concerned me in the past a bit, but I have learned that challenges are worth overcoming and this shouldn’t be much different,” Shaw said.
From his own experiences, Shaw hopes to encourage anyone who wants to do something similar, that they can achieve their goals. He suggests networking and getting as much varied experience as possible.
“If you want something, go get it,” Shaw said. “This is your life and your career, and if you want it badly enough, then you can definitely achieve it.”
