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Joshua Miller’s journey into physical therapy began when he shadowed at a clinic in Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital while studying for his bachelor’s degree.
“Coming into undergrad I was pre-med, so I was planning to be a doctor. In my sophomore year I thought, ‘do I actually want to be a doctor, or have I just been told this would be a good career?’ So, I took a step back and my mom encouraged me to shadow at physical therapy clinics. My brother did PT for a while. I shadowed around a few places and wasn’t sold, and then I shadowed at Le Bonheur. Le Bonheur sold me because I was there for half a day, but it flew by because from my perspective as a 19- or 20-year-old, it was having fun with kids all day,” Dr. Miller said. “Now I look back and I know they were doing very skilled things, but at that point I thought ‘this is fun.’ That’s what sold me and got me to apply.”
Dr. Miller, who is from Memphis, earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He joined UT Health Science Center for its affordability and to return to his hometown and family. He graduated in May from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the College of Health Professions.
While studying in the Department of Physical Therapy, Dr. Miller has been dedicated to leadership and service. He was recently recognized as an outstanding student leader at the 32nd annual Black Student Association awards. The annual event honors the achievements of seven student leaders from across the colleges at UT Health Science Center.
“I was grateful to not only be honored, but to be a good representative of all my classmates, and some of them came to the awards ceremony. Many of the things I did, I had others doing it with me, so it was really cool. I felt grateful to be honored as a representative of everybody’s hard work,” Dr. Miller said. “Also, I was grateful to be there amongst all the other candidates. They were doing great things for themselves, for the school, and for the community. It was a humbling experience to be there and hear what everybody else was doing and realize that they count me among them as an honoree.”
Dr. Miller has volunteered at Memphis Athletic Ministries (MAM), a Christian organization that provides mentoring programs to youth in neighborhoods across Memphis.
“Helping out at Memphis Athletic Ministries started off as a class project, but it was really cool because MAM primarily serves inner-city kids. In my group, it was me and three other Black men and it was special for all of us to be present as people who look like them who are getting their doctorate, especially to the younger boys, which is something a lot of them probably never thought of. That was special for all of us,” he said.
He has volunteered at Clínica Esperanza, a primary care clinic serving uninsured and underserved patients in the Hispanic or Latinx community in Memphis; and Memphis Rox.
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“Memphis Rox started as the class volunteering to help the local rock-climbing team, and me and another classmate turned it into going every Thursday and led the team through strength and mobility drills and exercises. It helped sharpen our PT clinical skills, but turned into a cool thing,” he said. “When any of the kids got injured, we were there hands-on. It was cool to go consistently and get to know the people who work there. Memphis Rox is a special place.”
He also enjoyed tutoring students in the Orthopedics I and II classes. “It really brings me a lot of joy to help other people along their way and help them get to their goals and dreams wherever they want to be,” he said.
Dr. Miller’s achievements include passing the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist examination and receiving a distinction as the top performer in Kinesiology. In addition, he is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and was a recipient of the fraternity’s national Distinguished Collegian award.
After graduating, Dr. Miller began a sports residency working with Rice University’s athletic programs at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. He said it is a great opportunity to continue learning and building on what he has learned. His future goal is to work in professional sports.
“I have been grateful for my time at UT Health Science Center. I was accepted into other PT programs but I’m thankful I went here, because I know the university has a commitment to diversity and I have really seen that,” he said. “It’s been enjoyable to interact with a diverse group of students all achieving big things.”
This story was initially published in the Spring 2024 College of Health Professions Magazine.