Ellie Essenberg blazed a trail to prepare for orthotics and prosthetics career

Ellie Essenberg has traveled a unique path at Trine University to prepare for her dream job.

Ellie is the first exercise science major at Trine to graduate with a minor in biomechanical engineering.

The Middleville, Michigan, student has been accepted to Eastern Michigan University’s Master of Science in orthotics and prosthetics program.

She is excited to begin the program this fall along with her roommate at Trine, Hannah Bodrie.

“I get to go to the best orthotics and prosthetics program with one of my closest friends and roommate of three years,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

Perfect balance

Ellie first became interested in orthotics and prosthetics while watching her father, a physical therapist, work with a patient who had a prosthetic leg.

“While I knew I didn’t want to follow directly in his footsteps, I have always been interested in what he does,” Ellie said. “He talked to me about how (the patient) got her prosthetic from a prosthetist who custom-designed and fit her leg. He mentioned how this may be a good career for me to pursue.”

She also thinks seeing the movie “How to Train Your Dragon” played a role, as she was inspired by Hiccup creating a wing for Toothless and receiving a prosthetic leg himself.

“I also knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life behind a desk, and prosthetists and orthotists spend some of the day talking with patients while understanding their needs and goals,” she said. “They also spend some of the day in a lab customizing devices, and at a desk while writing notes for insurance. It is a career that has a perfect balance of problem solving, collaboration, being on your feet, working with your hands and working quietly at a desk.”

For her senior project in high school, she researched phantom limb pain, which describes prosthetic patients’ experience when they may try to move portions of their limb that are no longer there.

“I have never enjoyed research projects, but this project was one I deeply enjoyed working on. I knew orthotics and prosthetics would be the career I would pursue,” she said.

Exercise science path

Ellie enrolled at another university with the intention to start in fall 2021. However, her plans changed when that university issued a mandate for all students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

With the start of the fall semester less than three weeks away, Ellie scheduled a visit at Trine.

“Everyone was extremely understanding of my situation and flawlessly accommodated my quick turnaround time,” she said, noting that she was even provided a spot in the marching band’s halftime show.

In researching the career path for orthotics and prosthetics, Ellie discovered that an undergraduate degree in exercise science or biomedical engineering would serve her the best.

“I ultimately decided to pursue both in a way,” she commented. “I decided to major in exercise science and spend more time on topics I am most interested in, and gain math and engineering skills through my biomechanical engineering minor.”

She worked closely with her academic advisor, Dr. Emily Watkins, to work the classes for the minor into her curriculum while meeting the requirements for graduate school.

“I have learned more about where the prosthetics field is heading through my Advanced Biomechanics class,” she said. “We have focused on 3D printing in the prosthetics field by creating a 3D prosthetic hand and analyzing research articles relating to 3D printing in the field.”

Through her time at Trine, Ellie sought out experiences to supplement her classroom education. She held a job with an in-home senior care company, working with people who had limited mobility.

She also completed more than 250 observation hours at the Hanger Clinic, which provides prosthetics and orthotics.

“I learned tricks of the trade while I was slowly given opportunities to help 3D scan, modify and deliver orthotic and prosthetic devices,” she said. “I gained a passion for watching people gain independence and mobility because of a tool I designed and provided for them.”

For her exercise science capstone, she researched two treatment types for correction of sagittal craniosynostosis, a type of early skull fusion. She said the project allowed her to learn more about how research in the field of orthotics and prosthetics is conducted and where the field is headed, as well as expanding her knowledge of a common pediatric condition.

28 out of 100

Ellie applied to Eastern Michigan on the advice of Lance Weersma, clinic manager at the Hanger Clinic.

She and Hannah visited the campus and met with the director, who told them that only 28 students are accepted out of about 100 who apply.

She received the news she had been accepted while sitting in the parking lot outside Hershey Hall, waiting to meet a friend before going to the gym.

“I checked my phone and saw an email from Eastern Michigan University titled ‘EMU MSOP - Admissions Decision,’ she recalled. “I pulled up the email as quickly as I could and read ‘Congratulations!’ ”

She learned shortly afterward that Hannah also had been accepted into the program.

Once she completes her master’s degree, Ellie will complete either a 12-month orthotics residency with a 12-month prosthetics residency, or an 18-month combined orthotics and prosthetics residency. Then she will need to pass certification exams in order to practice.

“Beyond that, I look forward to working somewhere in the Midwest as a certified orthotist and prosthetist,” she said.