A recent graduate of the Somerset Community College Physical Therapist Assistant Program has been named the recipient of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) National Physical Therapist Assistant Student of the Year Award for 2014. Briana Allen of Monticello will receive the award at the APTA NEXT Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina this June. This is the eighth year in a row that a SCC student has won the award. SCC graduates who have won the award in the past include: Debbie Lasure of Stanford in 2013; Melissa Keith of Columbia in 2012; Erin Green of Danville in 2011; Valarie Cooper of Jamestown in 2010; Rod Edwards of Somerset in 2009; Bethany Gosser of Liberty in 2008; and Heather Tuel of Somerset in 2007. The criteria for the award include academic and clinical performance, community service and contributions to the physical therapy profession. Her nomination was supported by faculty members Ron Meade, Steve Hammons, and Claudette Prather and by Jeff Parmelee, PT of Somerset.
Allen has been highly visible on SCC’s campus and in her community. She served as president of SCC’s Martial Arts Club and Physical Therapy Student Organization and was an active participant in SCC’s Student Government Association. She had also served the college as a student ambassador. She was the recipient of the prestigious John T. Smith Scholarship.
In addition, Allen volunteered for a number of community service projects and fundraisers, including volunteering to assist with free health screenings at the Kentucky Special Olympics, fundraising for the Foundation for Physical Therapy, and distributing information about organ and tissue donation. She represented the college at the 2013 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival as the college’s queen candidate. In 2014, Allen received the APTA Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy’s Outstanding Student Award in Las Vegas.
“Briana has just been a joy to have in the classroom and to know as a person,” states program director Ron Meade. “Without a doubt, if I owned a clinic, I would hire Briana. She is kind, hard-working and conscientious and we are so proud of her many accomplishments.”
Allen graduated from the SCC PTA Program in May. She is the daughter of Robert and Michelle Allen of Monticello and has a brother, Andre. She has worked for the physical therapy department at Wayne County Hospital in the past.
For more information about the SCC PTA Program, please contact the director of the program at ron.meade@kctcs.edu.