Olivas Castillo ready to take physical therapy to Hispanic community

by Chuck Gordon

In January of 2022, Denise Olivas Castillo was about to begin her studies in Wingate's Doctor of Physical Therapy program when she found out that she would need to take a week or two off early in the first semester. She risked falling behind before she ever really got started.

The timing may have been less than ideal, but there was a good reason for the time away: Olivas Castillo had to fly to Juarez, Mexico, to clear the final bits of red tape standing between her and a green card. Wingate was one of the only PT schools to look past her residency status, and they showed the same supportive attitude when it came to OK'ing her absence request.

Dr. Karen Friel, former director of the program and now vice provost for health sciences, told her: "If you think you can handle it, we'll approve your time off."

Olivas Castillo, 31, has proved Wingate's admission instincts correct, recording a stellar academic record even though she'd been out of school for nearly seven years by the time she enrolled. On Saturday, Castillo, a "Dreamer" (a nonresident brought to the U.S. as a child), will walk across the stage in Cuddy Arena to receive her diploma and earn her doctorate in physical therapy. Olivas Castillo is one of 156 graduate students, including 42 DPT students, who will be celebrating on Saturday. Including 117 undergraduates, 273 students are expected to receive certificates or diplomas during the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m.

Olivas Castillo took a winding path to physical therapy. Always interested in science and math - and always a good student - from an early age she wanted to be a forensic scientist. She was fascinated by the intersection of science and criminal justice, and she had a yen for solving problems.

"Patients gravitate toward her. Professors respect her. She's really made the most out of her three years here, for sure."

But after graduating in 2015 from Grand Canyon University, in her native Arizona, with a degree in forensic science, Olivas Castillo had a hard time getting her foot on the career ladder. Because her status was linked to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, it was difficult for her to pass the necessary security clearances to get an entry-level forensics job.

"Honestly, it was crushing," Olivas Castillo says. "I felt like an American already. I grew up here from 2 years old. It was hard to understand that based on a decision that I didn't make that my future was limited."

She wanted to sharpen her skills, so she worked in a lab as a microbiologist for three years, but the repetitive nature of the work and the isolation of the lab eventually became too much for the outgoing Olivas Castillo.

As she cast about for other potential careers, Olivas Castillo spent time shadowing a physical therapist, and soon she was smitten.

"The extroverted part of me was wanting interaction with other people and to see the immediate effects of my work with people," she says.

Olivas Castillo has been a "rock star" in the classroom, says Dr. Jill Nappi-Kaehler, Olivas Castillo's advisor.

"She's so dynamic," Nappi-Kaehler says. "She's so passionate. She's smart. She's a really hard worker. Patients gravitate toward her. Professors respect her. She's really made the most out of her three years here, for sure."

"I've always had a pretty good work ethic," Olivas Castillo says. "Failure wasn't an option."

Olivas Castillo spent more than a quarter century in Arizona, but she's planning to call Union County home after graduation. She's weighing two job offers in Monroe, where she hopes to be part of a push to open her fellow Hispanics' eyes to the value of physical therapy.

Although Hispanics account for nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, only a little over 5 percent of PTs are Hispanic. Olivas Castillo says that rather than visit PTs, Hispanics often use "sobadores," or unlicensed massage therapists.

When she told her parents she was going to become a physical therapist, she says, "They didn't know what that was."

"Through my rotations with Wingate, I've realized that there is a need to educate Hispanic patients on what physical therapy is, how it's beneficial, how it works for you," Olivas Castillo says. "When they see the results that your treatment has had on them, they are so grateful, because PT isn't really a part of our culture.

"A lot of people I encountered in Monroe, they work blue collar jobs: landscaping, construction. There were a lot of lifting and lower-back injuries that I was able to treat during my rotations. It's been super-nice to be able to educate someone on, 'Hey, I know your job requires this much lifting and repetitive movement, but there's a way to do it better so it decreases your odds of getting hurt.'"

Olivas Castillo is the only DACA student ever admitted to Wingate's DPT program.

"They were willing to take that risk on me," she says. "I know that most schools were worried about their pass rates on boards, so they didn't want to take a chance on a Dreamer who may or may not be able to practice in the state. I'll forever be grateful to Wingate for that."

Dec. 13. 2024

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