Emily Hyler-Both, DPT Candidate

Emily Hyler-Both is a first year Doctor of Physical Therapy student at West Virginia University’s School of Medicine. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 2018, with membership in the Pre-Med and Spanish Honor Societies.

Growing up in a medically astute home, she combined her love of medicine, manual therapy, and teaching by choosing to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. Her upbringing in rural West Virginia inspired her passion for many of the issues involved in rural healthcare, particularly involving the opioid crisis. She is currently involved in the Rural Health Interest Group at WVU, writes about rural healthcare issues for the APTA student blog called The Pulse, and attends as many events as possible to learn more about the role of Physical Therapists with respect to the opioid crisis. She is involved with both her local church and her hometown church, as her Christian faith is central to everything she does.

She plans to graduate in 2022 but is already preparing for the future. She volunteers with On Eagle’s Wings, a therapeutic horseback riding program, with hopes of one day working with a similar program as a Physical Therapist. She also maintains her Spanish to be able to serve on medical mission trips to Central and South America.

She is excited and thankful to be part of the Rural Community Health Scholars Program, as she knows she will gain more experience and knowledge with respect to medically underserved communities, and truly make an impact as a rural health clinician.