I called Dustin at 11 a.m. We picked this time because that’s when he would be back home from his long run. 

“I did 16 miles,” he said, “[in] just under two hours. The last three miles were a little rough. But I'm doing pretty good this year. It's faster than what I was doing [the] last time I trained for a marathon.”

Dustin changed his running schedule, based on his experience the last time he trained for a marathon. 

It's really hard to train for a marathon,” Dustin said. “The plan I was doing the last time was four or five runs a week. This time, I'm doing a three-days-a-week run [plan]. Those three runs are a little bit longer, but for me [it’s] more manageable. It's not all-consuming.” 

“I just wanna do better [this year],” he continued.

Dustin picked up running during his freshman year of college and has been running on and off ever since. It’s a good way to exercise at a low cost, and it’s something he can do alone while enjoying the outdoors. 

During college, Dustin met a key member of his support system, through a mentorship program for former foster youth.

“Doug has been probably the most important person in my life,” Dustin said. “He's a personal and professional mentor, but he's [also] like a father figure for me. I don't really like talking on the phone, but he's the one person I talk on the phone with. Growing up in foster care, you don't have parents to rely on if something goes wrong, so it's nice knowing I have someone that I can rely on, as much as I don't like relying on people or asking for help.” 

Outside of Doug, Dustin has struggled to find mentors and opportunities for growth in his career. 

“I've been a physical therapist for six and a half years,” Dustin said. “With PT, there's not a lot of upward mobility. It's pretty much, you're a physical therapist or you're a boss. There's not a big hierarchy of different positions, which I feel like limits professional growth and salary. I felt like I plateaued at the highest level early in my career. I want to be able to do something where it's a little bit more of a climb or [have the] ability to climb.”

Dustin considered switching careers, but then the pandemic hit. 

“I felt bad leaving, and no one knew what was going on in the world,” Dustin said. “I had PT friends that were getting laid off. I didn't want to look for a new job during this tumultuous time; plus, it was really rewarding work.” 

“I was working on the COVID unit for the first six months of COVID,” he continued. “Then, I was in the cardiothoracic unit working with lung transplants after COVID.”

Dustin likes physical therapy because he likes improving things and helping people. 

“Normally [when] people think PT, [they think] ‘Oh I tore my rotator cuff or my ACL,’ and you're going to an outpatient clinic,” he said. “In the hospital, our role is to get people to the point where they can return home or make an assessment and say that they're going to need more rehab.”

Depending on the injury, Dustin may spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour per day with a patient. 

“We'll walk with people,” he said. “[Sometimes] we're just sitting them up at the edge of bed or getting them to a chair. Some people, post-COVID, are so super weak or they've been on really intensive machines for a long time, where they can't tolerate a lot of activity. So [we’re] just progressing activity and eventually hoping to get them walking and safe, ready for home and whatever goals they have.” 

Dustin continued, “You really get to know the patient, understand their needs, and form good personal bonds, which is both a good thing and a bad thing because it's sad if something bad happens or when you don't get to see them every day anymore.”

His passion for improvement isn’t limited to hands-on work with patients. Dustin was the Chair of the Informatics Committee for his department during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped determine how his team could use technology to communicate with each other more efficiently and to deliver patient care remotely. He’s personally also helped at least six friends mount their TVs and is currently working on a minor bathroom renovation project in the apartment that he rents. 

Dustin didn’t always dream of being a physical therapist.

“In high school, I volunteered at the local hospital,” he said. “I thought about medical school. At the time, I was a little scared about medical school because everyone said it's so hard to get in. Growing up in foster care, I didn't want to do something and fail. I don't have anyone to fall back on. So, I thought PT school was a little bit more attainable.”

In retrospect, Dustin feels like he tried too hard to please others when he was in high school and college - even at his own expense. Now, Dustin prides himself on being independent and an advocate for himself. He doesn’t want to be taken advantage of, and he doesn’t want anyone else to be either. 

At his previous job, these desires for boundaries and self-care were sometimes misinterpreted.   

“I got in trouble at work [once] for asking people to be on time to a meeting in a very polite message,” Dustin said. “I literally got written up for it. Healthcare is so weird.” 

“The people that it was addressed to didn't mind,” he continued. “They were like, ‘Thanks so much for the reminder. We really appreciate what you do, and we don't want to disrespect your time.’ But their boss thought that I made her look bad because I was calling out her employees, and then she told my boss. I sent a very professional, courteous message about being on time to a meeting, and other people brought in [their] feelings.”

This year, Dustin started job searching. He’s considering a variety of opportunities. 

“The big thing for me is wanting a boss that is respectful and isn't using authority just because they have [it],” Dustin said. “Growing up in foster care, a lot of kids struggle with authority because they're being told to do things and they have so little decision-making ability in their own lives. For me, I feel like in the workplace, sometimes I struggle because I don't like people making decisions that impact me, and I have zero say in it - especially when it feels like it's not coming from a good place. I'm hoping for my next career move that I’ll have a good, respectful boss that appreciates opinions and likes different ideas.”

Becoming a good leader is also a goal for Dustin.

“As a PT, I've had multiple sets of students, and I really enjoyed teaching and being in charge of them,” Dustin said. “Being a good manager makes such a huge difference in someone's life. I think being able to be that person would be fun.”

Dustin also dreams of owning a home so he can do bigger renovation projects. He already has an Instagram hashtag for the projects that he does around his apartment and for his friends.

“I think it would be fun to do more challenging projects and maybe the first go-around isn't the best, but [you] keep improving,” Dustin said. “I don't really watch those shows anymore, but in college when you have cable TV, I watched HGTV or TLC; the house flipping shows were really cool. Just to see the before and after and know that you had that impact.”

Dustin can also see the improvements that he’s made within himself and the places where he’s continuing to renovate.

“I've been really good about being proactive [in] making decisions that benefit me while also benefiting others,” he said, “but I think sometimes I'm too hard on myself.”

He continued, “Relating back to foster care, you never know what the future holds. For me, financial security and home security are really important. I probably stress about that too much. In the future, even if I'm not making more money than I do now, I make a good amount of money, and I can have a nice life. I don't need to compare my life to what trips [my friends] are going on or what their houses look like. I think it's really easy to get wrapped up in that stuff.”

The advice that Dustin would give his younger self:

“Don't base your decisions on fear, and instead base them on what you truly want,” he said. “A lot of times I was so fearful of not having security in the future. Sometimes I was probably way more conservative in what I wanted to do and what I could do because I was [doing things] the way that I knew I could succeed as opposed to risking failure.” 

He continued, “I know that people talk about [having] to fail to succeed. That's a big struggle for me to take risks. I'm just a very risk-averse person. Even now I feel the same way. [I wish I could] be okay with taking bigger risks in my life when appropriate and be okay if things don't always work out exactly how I want them to. I really despise failure, but that limits what I expose myself to.”

Now, Dustin is exposing himself to many new things as he explores careers, discovers running trails, and tinkers with renovation projects - all while taking some measured risks along the way.