ST JOHN, INDIANA
“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her.”
EASY-GOING | EMPATHETIC | DRIVEN | ATHLETIC
My Story:
The one characteristic that I feel truly defines me as a person is my desire to help others. Growing up, I always found happiness in sharing my toys at recess or picking up a friend when they were down. What I failed to realize then is that my actions in the future would be heavily influenced by those instances. As I grew up, I found that I could use the desire to help others in a more focused way. Much of my focus has been on softball and other athletic pursuits. I devote a lot of my time to instructing and coaching young girls. Not only do I try to give them a basis in learning the game but I try to give them life skills as well. I have had the joy to see the players I have instructed grow into better softball players but more importantly, better people.
My desire to help others is translating into my future career path. My uncle was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease and my grandfather had a traumatic brain injury. I witnessed them struggle through both diagnoses/injuries and felt helpless that I could not help them in any capacity. Now that I am able to combine my academic interests and my desire to help others in their situations, I chose to be a Doctor of Physical Therapy at Marquette University. At Marquette, the have a specialized center for neurological disorders and I am planning to work toward helping those with these disorders improve their quality of life.
If someone were to describe me, I believe they would say that I was driven, focused, loving and empathic. I feel that given the proper tools, whether it be on the softball field or in physical therapy, people will be successful. I hope that I am one of those tools that will help others achieve their goals. In return, I will achieve mine.
Favorite part of working with PAT+CASSIE:
My favorite part of working with PAT+CASSIE was the ambassadors trip to San Diego, California! I had the opportunity to see beautiful places and meet some great people. I never would have had the opportunity to do anything like that. Everybody was so kind and the locations were stunning. I feel so lucky I was able to go. I will never forget the time spent with the PAT+CASSIE crew!
Instagram: elisekratkoczki
