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But one day, during her first placement at a Dartmouth clinic, Cherian’s car was t-boned while she was making a left turn in an intersection. “I had a bruised rib and a couple of scratches, so it was nothing major,” Cherian says. “But now I was stuck without a car.”

Cherian was able to do her second placement in New Glasgow thanks to a friend who was also training there. But when she learned that her third placement was in Truro, she began to worry.

“It was in winter, and I was scared of driving after the accident,” Cherian says. “I had been practicing so that I could make the one-hour trip back and forth to Halifax, but it was too much for me.”

Searching for a solution

Realizing she couldn’t swap placements with another student, Cherian looked at renting a place in Truro during her training. But with outstanding payments on her car and other expenses, she couldn’t figure out how to make it work financially. For a moment, she thought she might not be able to continue with the program.

“I was confiding in a friend about my situation, and she told me to reach out to the clinical coordinator for help,” Cherian says. “The coordinator suggested that I apply to the Physiotherapy Annual Fund.”

Supported by donors, the fund provides financial assistance to physiotherapy students like Cherian on an as-needed basis. She says their generosity made a big difference for her.

“It covered half the cost of an Airbnb for six weeks, which I couldn’t have done on my own,” Cherian says.

“That was a huge weight off my shoulders. It meant I could stay in Truro, do my training, and be present with the patients I was taking care of without any stress.”

A valuable experience

As it turned out, the placement that donors helped make possible was particularly invaluable for Cherian. “It was my first experience working at a private practice,” she says. “I’ll be starting a job with private clinic in Ottawa, so I was able to learn a lot that will help me.”

With her studies at Dal nearly wrapped up, Cherian is preparing for that job and thinking ahead. She wants to be a vestibular physiotherapist and is interested in studying concussions. But the ultimate goal is to one day open her own clinic in a rural community—a dream inspired by the placement that donors helped make possible.

“Sometimes, there is so much going on for students that it can be make or break for finishing a degree,” she says. “Knowing that their support was there when I really needed it made it possible for me to focus on being the best student I could be. And now, I can focus on being the best physiotherapist I can be.”