Ellis Martin

Born and raised in Port Alberni, BC, I spent most of my time playing sports growing up. Within the realm of sports, my heart belongs to hockey, but I've never been one to shy away from time together with friends in any sporting capacity. Being from a smaller town, I developed an interest in serving rural and remote communities in whatever career I chose to pursue. After high school, I went to the University of Victoria where I received a BSc with a focus in Kinesiology. After some years of deliberation and figuring out what I wanted to do after my degree, I decided I wanted to take a few years off of school before applying to physiotherapy schools across Canada in hopes of being able to pursue my dream - to help others while walking alongside them to achieve their goals. I moved to Ontario for two years to work in Housing Services at Trent University in Peterborough where I learned a significant amount of information regarding the treatment of individuals experiencing trauma and the importance of mental health. The skills that I gathered working in Peterborough were instrumental in getting me into my current program (Master's of Physical Therapy) at UBC and for that I am truly grateful. When applying, I noticed there was a new cohort starting up in Prince George - one that promoted rural and remote physiotherapy practice in hopes of having those students return to rural and remote underserved communities. I applied to that program and haven't looked back. Being a student in the MPT-N cohort has been one of the greatest experiences of my life and can say that I wouldn't change a thing if I was given the opportunity. While in the MPT-N cohort, I was elected Class Rep for my graduating class, which comes with a host of its own responsibilities and wearing multiple hats at different times (much like being on the Rural & Remote Committee). I also am part of the Mental Health Committee, which allows me to actively think about how I can't better support my peers and future clients/patients with things that may not be apparent on a surface level.