Nicholas Buto
Year In DPT Program: 1st
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawai`i
Read Nicholas's Bio
- Year in DPT program: 1st
- Hometown: Honolulu, Hawai`i
- Undergrad Institution: Chapman University in Orange, California
- Hobbies: I enjoy running, playing basketball and football, and hiking.
- PT Area of Interest: I am undecided but interested in orthopedics, sports, and pediatrics.
- Fun Fact: I have never seen snowfall.
- Why I chose NU DPT: I chose Northwestern because of the large and diverse class, the incredible resources and hospitals, the outstanding faculty and staff, and the unique challenges and experiences I would face living in a big city like Chicago.
- Contact: nicholas.buto@northwestern.edu
Brenna Deasy
Year In DPT Program: 1st
Hometown: Oceanside, California
Read Brenna's Bio
- Undergrad institution: University of California, San Diego
- Hobbies: Exploring the city, trying to restaurants, watching movies, and hiking.
- PT area of interest: Unsure, but I have an interest in pelvic health or ortho.
- Fun fact: I have a black belt in karate.
- Why you chose NU DPT: I chose NU DPT because I felt so welcomed and supported by the faculty, and the opportunity to pursue my Masters in Public Health in the DPT-MPH dual degree program.
- Contact: brenna.deasy@northwestern.edu.
Michelle Hunt
Year In DPT Program: 2nd
Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas
Read Michelle's Bio
- Undergrad institution: North Carolina State University
- Hobbies: Running, scuba diving, watching movies, reading, scrapbooking, and outdoor adventures.
- PT area of interest: Neurology, but I am keeping an open mind.
- Fun fact: I have a never ending Chicago Bucket list of all the things I want to do before I graduate.
- Why you chose NU DPT: The diversity (student body & faculty), MPH dual degree program and the location.
- Contact: michelle.hunt1@northwestern.edu.
Ethan Kizziar
Year In DPT Program: 2nd
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Read Ethan's Bio
- Undergrad Institution: University of Oregon
- Hobbies: Skiing, cooking, exploring eew places in Chicago.
- PT Area of Interest: Acute, but open.
- Fun Fact: I moved to Chicago in 2019 for a job and didn't know anyone in the city. So, I moved to a co-living house in Logan Square with 15 roommates from all over the world and lived there for almost two years.
- Why I chose NUDPT: The very supportive faculty and the opportunity to meet a large group of diverse classmates.
- Contact: ethan.kizziar@northwestern.edu.
Peter McManus
Year In DPT Program: 2nd
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
Read Peter's Bio
- Undergrad institution: Denison University
- Hobbies: I enjoy playing soccer, visiting national parks, playing board games, completing puzzles and staring at maps (I love all things geography).
- PT area of interest: Undecided but leaning towards acute or neuro.
- Fun fact: I have a lordship in Scotland.
- Why you chose NU DPT: The resources and faculty that Northwestern has are outstanding, along with the research opportunities available to students were the main factors in my decision to come to Northwestern.
- Contact: peter.mcmanus@northwestern.edu.
Osayama Omoruyi
Year In DPT Program: 1st
Hometown: Long Beach, California
Read Osayama's Bio
- Undergrad Institution: California State University, Sacramento
- Hobbies: Cooking, watching movies, cleaning, learning and exploring new experiences, and traveling.
- PT area of interest: geriatrics, or sports medicine, but I am still exploring throughout my learning journey.
- Fun fact: I speak a second language, which is a Nigerian language called “Yoruba”.
- Why I chose NU DPT: The resources Northwestern University provides for their DPT students is what drawn me the most. Furthermore, the dual degree program with DPT/MPH also solidified my choice.
- Contact: osayama.omoruyi@northwestern.edu
Eleni Papastratakos
Year In DPT Program: 1st
Hometown: Lake Zurich, Illinois
Read Eleni's Bio
- Undergrad institution: University of Dayton
- Hobbies: Hiking, reading, outdoor activities, and sports!
- PT area of interest: Inpatient neurology, but keeping an open mind!
- Fun fact: I love cooking and I make my own pickles!
- Why I chose NU DPT: I chose NU DPT because of the endless, unique opportunities that NU presents! All of our faculty either currently are practicing PT’s or used to be practicing PT’s, we work with clinicians at neighboring hospitals every day, the large class size allows for great discussions from multiple perspectives, the opportunity to be involved in the newest innovative research, the large alumni network, and being in the city of Chicago!
- Contact: eleni.papastratakos@northwestern.edu
Rachel Schneider
Year In DPT Program: 2nd
Hometown: Bolingbrook, Illinois
Read Rachel's Bio
- Undergrad institution: Oakland University in Michigan
- Hobbies: Reading, cooking, baking, traveling, working out.
- PT area of interest: Sports.
- Fun Fact: I played Division I volleyball for four years at Oakland University.
- Why you chose NU DPT: I chose NU DPT for the incredible faculty, widespread connections in the Chicago area and across the country, and the diversity of life experiences that comes with a large class size.
- Contact: rachel.schneider1@northwestern.edu.
