Message from the President of the

Class of 2006

Marty “Papa Smurf” Fontenot, SPT

President, DPT Class of 2006 

            Greetings from the “new kids on the block.”  Well, I guess we can no longer consider ourselves “new” as our first year is just about complete.  Wow – how time flies!  It seems just like yesterday we were stressing about learning all of the bones, muscles, and innervations while trying desperately to remove the lovely smell of cadavers from our clothes.  Yes, our first year is already over and I’d say we’re at right about the point where we know just enough to be dangerous.  You know how it is – we’re observing people’s gait in the mall, we’re being paranoid about all of our little aches and pains, and last but not least – our families think we have all of the answers for their aches and pains…when all they really want is a free massage!  Yes, it’s already been a year, but what a year it’s been.

            Of course I’m a little biased, but I have never been more proud to be associated with a group of people as I am with the 32 students in our class. From day one there has been an amazing comradeship and “closeness” among the entire class that has thrived throughout our first year.  This was evident as more than 20 members of our class attended the 2004 APTA Student Conclave in Charlotte, NC during Fall Semester.  These “kids” as I call them (since I’m the ‘old one’ of the group) truly have a passion for becoming physical therapists.  This shows not only in their work ethic in the classroom, but more importantly in their continuous volunteer and community involvement. 

            Over the past year our class has continued UDPT’s tradition of community service with our involvement in Bike to the Bay, Newark Community Day, MS Assessment Clinics, Stroke Awareness Presentations, Stroke Screenings, and the Breast Cancer Walk/Race.  Also, our class is heavily involved with volunteering for UDPT events such as the UD Field Hockey and Lacrosse games, various PhD research projects and Open Houses/Interviews for the incoming PT classes.  Our class was excited to plan this year’s Faculty Appreciation Week, as well as facilitate the Halloween Costume Party, Thanksgiving Canned-Food Drive and the Holiday Toys-for-Tots Drive.  In addition, many of our students donate their personal time (before and after school) to provide home care services for some pretty incredible individuals in the surrounding community.

            However, when we’re not studying or volunteering in the community, we do find time to join up for a little fun.  Intramural teams are a “must” for each semester, as they serve as pretty good tension relief.  Not too mention the fact that we have some pretty competitive folks in the class who are not quite ready to give up the “glory days” yet.  We’ve fielded teams in flag football, co-ed flag football, co-ed Volleyball, and took home the School Championship in co-ed Basketball.  In addition, we had a pretty competitive “old school” Field Day, complete with a water balloon toss, egg on a spoon race, wheelbarrow and three-legged races, and tug-of-war…the rematch is set for this summer!

            Yes, the first year is almost over and what an experience it has been!  There’s no way we could have made it throughout this year without the guidance of UDPT’s wonderful faculty/staff, as well as the helpful “hints” and tutoring from the DPT II’s.  We are excited to apply our newly acquired knowledge in our upcoming Acute affiliations this Summer as well our integrated affiliations in the Fall.  Before your know it, I’ll be writing about how exciting our second year was and chances are our families will still be wanting free massages!

Our first class get-together… Summer ‘04