Alison studied engineering in college, but as she approached graduation, she wanted a job where her work more clearly affected the world around her. She took to the Internet and when prosthetics and orthotics popped up in her search bar, she was immediately intrigued.

Eager to gain first-hand experience, Alison contacted a local POP clinic about job shadowing opportunities. She spent a semester there meeting patients and learning from staff. Seeing the clinic’s day-to-day operations, and the impact it had on people’s lives, deepened Alison’s interest in the profession and led her to pursue a master’s degree in prosthetics and orthotics.

Now, Alison manages a POP clinic in Missouri. She enjoys that her job lets her wear many hats: seeing patients as a clinician and building relationships with fellow staff as a clinic manager. She looks forward to a career that enables her to give back, both to her patients and the next generation of POP professionals—and hopes to one day become a director at a POP residency program.