Editor's note: NNUSports.com will be running Senior Spotlights on all the spring sports seniors who have elected not to come back for another year of eligibility.

Senior spotlight: Ally Miran 

Women's track and field, hurdles, from Garden Valley, Idaho
Major: Kinesiology
 
Ally Miran has a very specific career goal.

The Northwest Nazarene senior wants to build a clinic that would create a hub where lots of different therapies can come together so families with disabilities can go to one specific place for therapy.

Miran, a Kinesiology major, plans on becoming an occupational therapist. Growing up in Garden Valley, Idaho, her family had long drives all over the Treasure Valley to help her younger brother, who has autism spectrum disorder, get the therapy he needed.

"We spent many days a week getting him to different services," she said. "One end of town for one therapy, another end of town for another. It was very draining. You can always get better results if the individual is ready to work and to get better with their daily tasks if they aren't drained from driving all around the city."

Miran is headed to Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, this fall to pursue her doctorate in occupational therapy through a program with the University of North Dakota.

She decided to pursue the profession partly because of the time spent with her brother in his therapy.

"I was always very intrigued by it and I felt connected because I was the playmate during his therapies," she said. "I had tons of hands on experience with how incredible an impact it can have on an individual."

Occupational therapy varies from client to client and is shaped for the individual person's needs.

"A lot of times, it is confused with physical therapy," Miran said. "The difference is that it deals with the holistic part of the person. Occupational therapy helps with daily tasks and helps individuals adapt to their environment to better help them succeed and have the best quality of life they can."

And if things work out, Miran will help individuals live their best life, by offering a plethora of therapy services in one building.
 
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