{"id":13714,"date":"2026-10-29T02:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=13714"},"modified":"2026-11-09T15:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T20:22:20","slug":"in-good-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=13714","title":{"rendered":"In good hands"},"content":{"rendered":"

PATIENTS AT HAMILTON PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES in Mercer County are likely to overhear some Lions lore \u2014 from championship games to favorite professors to nights at the Rat \u2014 when they go in for their appointments. That\u2019s thanks to the easy rapport among therapists Fred York \u201983, Mark Laurinaitis \u201997, and Scott Giallella \u201999, who turned their TCNJ academic and athletic experiences into careers at the practice.<\/p>\n

Over the years, those TCNJ ties have extended to a new generation of students. For the past two decades, Hamilton PT has welcomed interns from the college, giving them clinical experience. Some have even stayed on after graduation \u2014 including two recent TCNJ alumni hired as part time rehabilitation aides.<\/p>\n

YORK, LAURINAITIS, AND GIALLELLA each came to physical therapy from different paths, but sports influenced all three.<\/p>\n

York broke his ankle while playing college baseball at TCNJ and went to PT as part of his healing process \u2014 an experience that inspired his pursuit of the profession. A biology major at TCNJ, York continued on to earn a certification in PT from Hahnemann University before joining Hamilton PT in 1986.<\/p>\n

\"Physical
Fred York \u201983<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Childhood sports injuries had sparked Laurinaitis\u2019 interest in the field early on. He studied exercise science in the corporate fitness track as a Lion and then completed physical therapy school at Old Dominion University in 2000. A standout athlete, he\u2019s even in the TCNJ history books for one of soccer\u2019s most dramatic moments: In 1996, he helped the Lions win 2\u20131 in the NCAA Division III championship game, scoring both goals \u2014 including the winner, with six seconds remaining in the fourth overtime. When Laurinaitis names the championship as his favorite college memory, it\u2019s Giallella who supplies the detail about the two goals. The pair met at TCNJ, and no one in this group gets to understate a good story.<\/p>\n

Giallella, who once considered studying art, transferred to TCNJ as a corporate fitness major with the goal of becoming a physical therapist. He played baseball and closed his college career with a senior-season trip to the regionals before earning a master\u2019s degree in PT from Widener University. He and Laurinaitis gained early clinical experience at Hopewell Physical Therapy before their careers converged again in the early 2000s at Hamilton PT.<\/p>\n

NOAH BELLER \u201910, TCNJ\u2019S INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR for kinesiology and health sciences, calls Hamilton PT a crucial fixture in the college\u2019s placement program. Therapists
\ninclude students in discussions about assessments, care decisions, and the scientific reasoning behind each choice. In turn, students observe evaluations, therapy sessions, and progress assessments, giving them a clearer understanding of the profession and the graduate education it requires.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur previous interns have been absolutely thrilled with their supervisors\u2019 dedication to educating them,\u201d Beller says. \u201cThat kind of applied learning is the most valuable experience an undergraduate can get. Interns leave with an understanding of the \u2018why,\u2019 not just the \u2018how.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When students encounter the same concepts later in their studies, their time at Hamilton PT helps them connect the dots. \u201cIt\u2019s a joy to be part of their growth,\u201d Laurinaitis says.<\/p>\n

\"Scott
Scott Giallella \u201999<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Juliana Ciccone \u201925 became a part-time rehabilitation aide at the clinic after completing her internship.<\/p>\n

Nolan Dindial \u201922 took a similar path. For his senior capstone, he worked with an occupational therapist to design a rehabilitation tool for a patient recovering from a stroke. Years later, the clinic still uses it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer that the lessons I\u2019ve learned at Hamilton PT can\u2019t be taught in a classroom,\u201d says Dindial, who is completing prerequisites for physician assistant school while remaining on staff as a rehabilitation tech and physical therapy aide.<\/p>\n

Occasionally, the generational divide produces its own lesson. Laurinaitis once told a TCNJ student that he had attended Trenton State, only to receive a puzzled look.<\/p>\n

\"Mark
Mark Laurinaitis \u201997<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I realized they were about 5 when the name changed,\u201d he says. The students he works with today weren\u2019t even born then.<\/p>\n

For Laurinaitis, ties to the college continue beyond Hamilton PT. He recently joined a men\u2019s soccer alumni career night to speak with current players about the transition from college to working life.<\/p>\n

At the practice, that bond is renewed whenever another TCNJstudent or recent graduate arrives ready to learn. \u201cBecause the students come from TCNJ,\u201d Laurinaitis says, \u201cit holds something special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Hannah Yoon<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hamilton Physical Therapy has become a professional home for
\nTCNJ alumni \u2014 and a starting point for students entering the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":360,"featured_media":13756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13714"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13823,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13714\/revisions\/13823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}