News Archives: Caitlin Baker From Basketball to Physiotherapy
Monday, August 28th, 2017
Caitlin Baker was born in Fort St. John, B.C. and planned to head south to continue her education, until a GPRC scout at her basketball zone playoffs invited her to an ID camp. After the camp, she was offered a position to join the Wolf pack.
Baker started as a business major, having heard it was difficult to find a career in physical therapy, and stuck it out for a year despite not enjoying it. Choosing to pursue her passion, she switched to the Kinesiology program in her second year.
Having grown up playing sports, Baker inevitably suffered a number of injuries which introduced her to physical therapy. The way physical therapists could figure out what was going wrong with the body without diagnostic imaging interested Baker right away.
While playing for the Wolves, Baker received treatment from Gail Antaya, a physical therapist at the College, who encouraged Baker to follow her dreams and set her more firmly on her career path.
The kinesiology department at GPRC was small, which meant small classes sizes and a yearly retreat. Students and instructors were able to get to know each other and make lasting connections. This was particularly beneficial to students who could learn about their teacher’s past experiences in the field.
The close-knit community also meant that when Baker headed to the University of Alberta she wasn’t alone; she ran into classmates from GPRC and they built their own network in Edmonton that they could fall back on. Her roommates in Edmonton were the same roommates she had started with in her first year at GPRC and they are still friends to this day.
After graduating from the University of Alberta, Baker met Dave Hurta, owner of Kinesis Physical Therapy. Hurta, as the owner of the business, was able to offer more mentorship than some larger companies. His philosophy of treatment, model of care, and attention to detail with assessment also impressed Baker.
Baker loves what she does. “Getting to help people and seeing them get back to the activities they love. Helping them with their pain. It’s a really rewarding job.”
She has the opportunity to work with the general public as well as athletes. “You get to help everyone from that ninety-year-old lady who just wants to knit again, right down to the six-year-old who sprained their ankle playing soccer. You can help a wide variety of people.”
The reward makes it worth going through all the schooling and the stress to get into the physical therapy program. She recommends, to those going into the field, taking advantage of practice interviews and other similar services to prepare yourself.
“If it is something you want to do, stick with it. It is definitely worth it in the end.”
As for what’s next for Baker, she’s going to be working with team Alberta at the Canada Summer Games. It is “awesome to work with a multi-sport games” and hopefully a transition for her into higher level games, like Pan Am, or, maybe someday, the Olympics.