PTAs have more than mission in common

PTAs tend to have a lot in common. They want to help patients regain mobility. To reduce pain. To regain independence.

But when Rachel Shaheen '20 began working at Powerback Rehab a few months ago, she discovered she had even more in common with colleague Ryan Hohman '02: a Physical Therapist Assistant associate degree from Mercyhurst University. And, despite the fact that they’d graduated nearly 20 years apart, she said, they’d had “the same wonderful professor, Jan Haas!”

“When I started a few months ago as the director of rehabilitation at a personal care facility in the Pittsburgh region, Ryan was one of the three people who trained and mentored me,” Shaheen explained.

Shaheen says her studies at Mercyhurst gave her “a solid knowledge base and diverse repertoire” to help patients reach their clinical goals.

Mercyhurst’s alumni office offers a successful and welcoming community of alumni that can stretch meaningful connections, she added.

Her advice for recent graduates: “Maintain former connections while actively establishing new ones. …Seek ways to serve and express gratitude throughout the journey. You never know when an alumni might become an ally.”

PHOTO: Hohman, left, and Shaheen.