Grad returns to college, Gateway, to train for new career

Kristine Gilson was working as a personal trainer, helping her clients find better health through exercise.

She liked her work, but it was different than she initially expected after earning a four-year degree from a Wisconsin state university. When there were too few jobs available in her initial career field of corporate health promotion, she turned to personal training.

“As a trainer, I was already in the physical aspect, corrective exercise and injury prevention,” said Kristine. “A lot of my clients told me I should go into physical therapy. I started looking into it – I was living in Chicago at the time – and found out none of my credits would transfer. I found out I would have to start over and realized it was ridiculously expensive.

“So, I didn’t apply to college. Life events happened, I moved back to Wisconsin, and I said, ‘I wonder if my credits will transfer now?’ I applied to Gateway’s program, got accepted, and a decade later, I was back at college.”

Back in the classroom, Kristine earned a Gateway Physical Therapist Assistant degree, and she will soon enter into a career field she loves. She gained real-world experience through Gateway’s clinical immersion at Froedtert South, helping bring strength, health, and, for some, normalcy back into her patients’ lives.

“I like working with patients to help them physically get back to where they want to be, where they need to be,” says Kristine. “For some people, it can be scary. Maybe they had an injury or a recent diagnosis like Parkinson’s. To help them is very rewarding.”

Reputation helped grad choose Gateway

Kristine says she chose Gateway because of its strong reputation, strong curriculum and its nationally certified program.

“There aren’t a lot of universities or technical colleges that have a certified program for physical therapists,” said Kristine. “Gateway does. There are some businesses that require applicants to have gone to a program with that certification. I felt that if I was going to put in the time and money to go back to college, I wanted to attend a certified program. Otherwise, it would have been a waste.”

And how was Gateway’s training?

“Gateway prepared me well for my career. You try to get as much information as you can during the classwork, but I think the best thing was the clinicals,” says Kristine. “Technically, you are in the real world, able to practice all those skills you’ve learned. You’re learning from each of your patients.”

Clinical site taught new skills

Kristine, who was previously a competitive swimmer, took part in hydrotherapy, a water-based physical therapy technique, at her Froedtert South clinical site, giving her the opportunity to gain skills in a different approach to therapy.

“Sometimes with a patient’s condition, you might have to do both therapies (in and out of the water),” she said. “I think being able to do this does open some doors for me, too, and adds another way for me to treat patients.”

Kristine says one aspect she liked about Gateway is its diverse student population. “We had a lot of people in different age brackets,” says Kristine. “In my class, we had students ages 19 to 46. It really gives you a different perspective on things. 

“Each person learns in a different way, has a different way of expressing themselves and has different life experiences. When you get out in the field, you will work with people of all ages. Each body is different, the mechanics of an injury are all different, and being able to relate to many different people at Gateway is a benefit to my career now.”