In 2024, her first year at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Chelsea Marks wanted to join a club that would help her connect with the O&P community.
“When I found there was no [O&P] club on campus, I realized there was no reason for me not to start one, and I begin to bridge the gap of including undergraduates in making a difference before achieving their degree. I came up with the idea for the O&P club because being a freshman, I was looking for a club that could show me how to get involved in the world of orthotics and prosthetics,” says Marks, who is studying rehabilitative health sciences at the university. She plans to pursue her Master of Science in Orthotics & Prosthetics (MSOP) degree in 2028.
Marks’ interest in an O&P career was inspired by a friend who has a right leg knee disarticulation. “He has shown me how life-changing the right prosthetic device can be,” she says. “He has always told me of so many adventures he has gone on and the connections he has made with people not just in spite of being an amputee but because he is an amputee.”
The club’s purpose, Marks says, is to grow the understanding of O&P, engage with professionals in and outside of O&P, build clinical and social skills related to O&P, and serve the community. Any undergraduate or MSOP student at ETSU can join the club.
Photograph courtesy of Chelsea Marks.
Marks first sought guidance from ETSU staff and the O&P program’s faculty, including Kyle Leister, PhD, CPO, program director, and Tom Karolewski, EdD, CP/L, FAAOP(D), assistant professor. ETSU staff offered to help by sending information on Marks’ behalf and letting the club paint its logo on the ETSU pride walk.
“Faculty, students, and staff have received the club very well,” she says. “There has been so much support from [everyone], especially the faculty in the MSOP program. Dr. Leister and Dr. Tom were on board immediately when I proposed the idea. They have shown excitement and been a resource for everything that we as students cannot provide for the club.”
Marks’ enthusiasm for launching the club included designing the logo.
“I first made a list of what seemed important to be included on the logo, such as the name of the club, the name of the school, and some visual representation of what the club is about. I then went on [the graphic design website] Canva and messed around with different designs I could create including all of those criteria until it looked exactly how I wanted.”
To date there are 17 members and counting in ETSU’s O&P club.
