S TU D E N T S IN ACT ION
RUNNING DOWN A DREAM
Turtle Mountain Community College transfer Kayana Trottier finds a second family in the UND Department of Physical Therapy. When Kayana Trottier transferred to the University of North Dakota, she followed her passion for physical therapy despite the challenges in her personal life. Retracing the footsteps of her mother, who earned a master’s degree in education at UND, Trottier wanted to pursue physical therapy at the university. Months before Trottier applied, however, her mom passed away. Devastated by the loss, Trottier said she struggled in her courses at first. Her mother was not there to hear her concerns and tell her that “you worry too much.” “But I ended up getting through it with my family, friends, and professors,” she said. Prior to UND, Trottier attended Turtle Mountain Community College. An enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in Belcourt, N.D., she moved to the reservation as a teenager. The college there provided an opportunity to learn about her heritage.
“I’m helping people get better,” she said.
Having just completed clinical placements
The college had a “big family dynamic,”
“I am helping them in the long term versus
in Bemidji, Minn., and San Antonio, Texas,
she said. But so does the physical therapy
the short term because physical therapy is
Trottier intends to remain in San Antonio,
program at UND. When she mourned the
a long-term fix. It’s something to include in
where her mother’s twin sister lives. She
death of her mother, professors helped her
your daily life all the time.”
hopes to secure a sports physical therapy
in and outside the classroom.
Academically, it was not easy. Aside from
residency with Evidence in Motion, a renowned educational institution.
“It meant the most to me as somebody
classes, Trottier had to prepare extensively
who was struggling because they didn’t
for her clinical practices, where students
Looking back on her experiences at UND
have to do that for me,” Trottier said. “They
interact with patients.
and heading toward a career she has
want you to be successful not just as a professional or as a physical therapist but in your personal life, too.”
“If I knew that there was a person coming with a certain body part I had to know about, I would study that beforehand,”
Now, having just graduated from UND with
Trottier said. “And then, I was able to apply
her doctorate in physical therapy, Trottier
that information. As a physical therapist,
is proud to have earned a degree in the
you are a learner your entire life. So every
health sciences. It was one of her goals.
day, I’m learning things over and over.”
always dreamed of, Trottier has a piece of advice for other transfer students: “If you have what you want in mind, then do it and stay on the right track. And, don’t be afraid to ask for help. People at UND are willing to help you right away when you come here.” By Dima Williams
26
North Dakota Medicine Summer 2021
