ANNA-LILJA DAWSON

September brought a double-header of anniversaries for the School of Physical Therapy, which celebrated its 50th year as a University of Saskatchewan program and its participation in the national cystic fibrosis fundraiser Shinerama.

Students, alumni and faculty alike attended the festivities, which included an educational conference and a wine and cheese reception on Sept. 11 and a gala the following evening. The Physical Therapy Students Society (PTSS) wrapped up their annual fundraising campaign on Sept. 17 with a city-wide fundraising blitz.

“It was a great experience to talk with people who had been in our position at some point during their education and could relate on so many levels,” said Keltie Brigham, a second-year student who attended the anniversary, in an email to the Sheaf.

While school anniversaries often focus on longevity and celebrate alumni, plenty of advantages were provided for the program’s current students. Students were offered a discounted rate on the conference, which featured local and international experts in physical therapy and its related fields and had many networking opportunities during the weekend.

“I found that the social events were a great way to feel more pride with respect to our program. My advice to other students would be that even though you may not enjoy hearing about the history of your school, it is an informal opportunity to socialize with future employers as well as colleagues,” Brigham said.

Liz Harrison, associate dean of the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, noted in an email to the Sheaf that all of the physical therapy students attended the conference. However, Brigham said that not many students were present at the other events.

“It’s unfortunate more [students] didn’t attend, as the events were entertaining and allowed you to learn a lot about the school we currently attend,” Brigham said.

“During the gala especially, class members from each decade were asked to share their memories and it was eye-opening to see just how similar alumni and current students are.”

U of S physical therapy students and staff practice in the lab in 1965.

In addition to the festivities, a silent auction raised $7,000 to go towards student scholarships and tours were given of the school’s new location in the E-wing of the Health Sciences Building. The School of Physical Therapy has been temporarily located in St. Andrew’s College since 1970 but will make the move in 2016.

PTSS Shinerama coordinators, Brigham and Breanne George, had a chance to speak to alumni at the anniversary, many of whom would have been involved with the fundraiser as students themselves.

“Our students are creative in their attempts to try and raise awareness and collect donations for cystic fibrosis,” George wrote in an email to the Sheaf. “Out of the 60 Canadian Shinerama fundraisers, our campaign raises the most amount of money per student. This is a huge compliment to our university and shows the great support that the campaign has from the rest of the student body.”

Increasing on the previous year’s goal by $5,000, the PTSS set their sights on fundraising $40,000 for cystic fibrosis research and treatment. At time of print, the PTSS had raised just over $30,000.

With events held throughout the year, all Shinerama campaigns come to a close in September with their two major events: Change Wars and Shine Day.

For two weeks in September, students, faculty and staff were pitted against each other in Change Wars to see which group could raise the most money in spare change. This year, the second-year students came out victorious.

The PTSS held their Shine Day on Sept. 17. A group of 80 students were at various locations on campus and across Saskatoon where they sang, danced and held raffles, among other things, in order to meet their fundraising goal. Additional events for Shinerama 2015 included steak and comedy nights and a volleyball tournament.