How Raven Boswell Decided to Become a PTA
Raven Boswell has been involved in sports in one way or another her whole life. She played basketball through college and spent five summers as a basketball camp coach for kids. After earning a bachelor’s in business, she spent a year in marketing and sales at the YMCA and six years in a management role for a retail sporting goods store. Still, something about her career path in business didn’t feel quite right to Raven. She decided it was time for a change.Growing up, Raven had watched her sister with Cerebral Palsy benefit from therapy. Raven also had physical therapy twice for basketball injuries, after tearing her ACL as a high school and collegiate player. She realized that she had an interest in the physical therapy field and that becoming a physical therapy assistant (PTA) lined up with her natural instinct to care for others.
PTA Program Experience at South University
When Raven went online to search for PTA programs, she found the PTA associate degree program at South University, Columbia. After she inquired, the admissions department responded quickly to provide her more information and help her get started.“I came in with no experience or background in physical therapy,” Raven says. “I had many challenges, having to shift my mind from applied business to the practicality of physical therapy.”
What Raven did have, though, was a hunger to fulfill her dreams and aspirations. This motivation was enough to help her push through, and the people around her also had her back. “I was greeted with a smile from day one from the security guard Mr. Marvin, to every professor, faculty, and staff member,” she says. “In all, they made me feel as though my goals were achievable at South University.”
She adds, “All of the physical therapy assistant program department took a significant interest in my and my cohort’s success. They made sure that we were not only gaining academic success, but assisted in developing us as professionals.”
In addition to asking lots of questions and reaching out to her professors when she needed something, Raven also found it helpful to get to know her fellow students and create study groups so that they could help each other succeed.
A New Start: Where Raven is Today
Raven graduated from South University, Columbia with her PTA degree in 2025. She now works as a Physical Therapist Assistant at Encompass Health in Georgia, where she is proud to be doing work that helps others.Tell us your graduate success story!
If you’re a grad who wants to share your experiences and career highlights, visit the South University Alumni Site to share your alumni success story.--
Graduates are required to pass the national certification exam and obtain a state license in order to work in the field. (Exam names vary by program.) Please refer to the State Professional Licensure Determination and National Certification/Licensure section of the University catalog for additional information. South University cannot guarantee each graduate will pass the required licensure examinations. South University does not promise or guarantee licensure, employment, or salary amounts.
Programs, including all Clinical/Medical programs, have a required in-person, practicum, or externship. We cannot guarantee flexibility in these components of the program.
Testimonials have been provided by students/alumni in their own words and without coercion. This spotlight is based on information shared in 2026.
