GW SMHS Celebration 2020

The Department of Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences (HHFRS)

Physical Therapy Graduation and Awards Ceremony
Friday, May 15, 2020 1:00 pm ET

You are also invited to attend the May 2021 University-wide Bicentennial Commencement on the National Mall.

Virtual Celebration Event

Watch PT Graduation and Awards Ceremony

Faculty & Staff Congratulations!

Graduation Celebration Program

 

Please download the program PDF to view digitally and follow along with the celebration, or print at home. Download PT Graduation Program

 

 

Student Speaker

Shira Racoosin (DPT '20) has been selected as the student speaker for the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) 2020 Graduation Ceremony. Through her time at GW, Racoosin has been actively involved in all aspects of the DPT program.

Since her first semester, Racoosin, of Bethesda, Maryland, has held a leadership position in the Physical Therapy Student Organization, serving as a prospective student chair. In this role, she was the liaison between current and prospective students. She has organized prospective student interview days, corresponded with applicants, aided in the orientation process by organizing a student panel to speak to incoming students, and facilitated the DPT peer-mentoring program.

Throughout the program, Racoosin has volunteered with multiple events, including the GW Pro Bono Clinic, Adaptive Adventure Day, Special Olympics, Global PT Day of Service, and the D.C. Rock N’ Roll Marathon. In the local community, she has volunteered at Dog Tag Bakery, a Washington, D.C., bakery that provides education to veterans and military families. She also served as a GW liaison for the Challengers Little League Baseball Organization, an adaptive baseball team. Outside of the D.C. area, she traveled to Guatemala for a service trip through the GW PT program and Move Together, Inc., a nonprofit that strives to increase access to quality rehabilitation medicine around the world. This project allowed GW faculty and students to treat patients in local Guatemalan communities alongside Guatemalan PT students and clinicians.

To further her connections in the profession, Racoosin has attended national conferences, including the 2017 and 2018 Combined Section Meetings of the American Physical Therapy Association. She enjoyed completing clinical rotations and working on research. She looks forward to continuing volunteer service, furthering classroom learning, and improving professional development through Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency at Johns Hopkins/GW upon graduation.