Week two started off great! I feel I am starting to get in my groove here at APTA. I am able to work from my laptop with my own flexibility of taking walking breaks or breaking for lunch. Tuesday was probably the busiest day I have had and will have here! I started the day off by arriving at Capitol Hill to meet with a NC congressman. He was absolutely amazing and supports the physical therapy profession passionately. I am looking forward to working with him more for our Flash Action Strategy on Sept. 24 to support education of the physical therapy legislation efforts to the students, who are soon to be working professionals.
The day followed up with recording a video with another congresswoman who is supportive of our falls prevention legislation, as well as attending a reception for the Democratic Party. Both these events were exciting, and I feel like I am starting to get the hang of how to communicate with legislators and network with other lobbyists.
Wednesday, I had the pleasure of joining a reception at the Tuesday Group, a moderate Republican group. According to my supervisors and mentors, moderates are the people who make things happen, they are able to compromise and explore multiple sides to an issue. As physical therapy advocates, we work a lot with moderate congressmen and women because many, if not all, of our bills are bipartisan in nature. I look forward to initiating more of these conversations within the following weeks.
Fun activities around D.C.:
Taking Maggie to the dog park is a blast, she always comes home with a large smile and tired puppy eyes.
Riding the Metro is pretty much stress free, and I hate driving, so the Metro is a win-win.
The farmer’s market has so much diversity within the foods and is close by, I hope to go to a different farmer’s market every weekend!
Attended the Nationals game, which was fun, and they gave away free bobbleheads!
Lastly, I also took a stroll at the Warf, this was beautiful with the sunset and a perfect way to end a Friday night, next to the water and munching on a lobster roll!
Until next time,
Cortney
Cortney Meunier is a graduate student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Originally from Oconto Falls, Wis., Cortney serves as the 2024 Alexa Posny Scholar, interning with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Follow along on her blog and see additional photos on Facebook.