Young Alumna of the Year Award
Dr. Elizabeth Traudt Conrath, Arts ’10, H Sci ’12
Milwaukee, Wis.
As a pediatric physical therapist, Dr. Elizabeth Conrath feels privileged to walk alongside families during challenging and uncertain times. Lizzie’s favorite part about her work at Little Light Pediatric Therapies is partnering with families to develop meaningful and realistic goals for their child and then celebrating as they work together to meet those goals.
Lizzie modeled her physical therapy practice after the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis. She says, “We want to care for not only the whole child but the whole family.”
Lizzie and her team also mentor future health care workers through the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Family Teaching Program. Through LEND, graduate students in health-related disciplines from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette observe sessions at Little Light. In return for mentoring these students, the Little Light team can provide pro bono services to five families per academic semester.
While working at Children’s Wisconsin, Lizzie was instrumental in partnering with the Marquette and Medical College of Wisconsin Joint Biomedical Engineering Department to establish the Milwaukee branch of Go Baby Go. Through Go Baby Go, physical therapists and engineers help modify and adapt electric, ride-on cars for children with disabilities, to improve their independence and opportunities for socialization, language, movement and joy. From 2016 to 2023, Go Baby Go in Milwaukee gave away over 200 cars to children/families in need.
One of Lizzie’s long-term goals is to establish a pro bono clinic affiliated with Little Light and apply for grant funding to provide accessible therapy-related resources and programs to families in need in Milwaukee.
Fun Facts:
Name a Marquette faculty or staff member who had an impact on you, and how.
Many Marquette faculty and staff had profound impacts on me. One professor that especially stands out is Dr. Anees Sheikh, my instructor for Psychology of Happiness. Dr. Sheikh’s class was a three-hour Thursday night class, and I looked forward to it every week. The whole premise of his class is that, if you want to be happy, be kind and good to others. Take care of others. Serve others. This, he noted, would make you the happiest, and I am, indeed, finding that to be true! Dr. Sheikh had us do a daily experiential project. It was like a form of guided journaling, and it had a way of encouraging us to do good in the world and then reflect on how that impacted us. I am so grateful that I met Dr. Sheikh, whom I hold in high esteem!
What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
One of my favorite Marquette memories happened during my freshman year. I actually remember the date: it was Friday, December 2, 2006. I had a big chemistry exam that morning at 8 a.m. As I was quite a rigorous (maybe over-the-top?!) studier, I awakened very early to squeeze in a few extra hours of studying. Around 5:30 a.m., I received the most joyous email of all time: School was cancelled because of a big snowstorm. I couldn’t believe my luck! I had been told that Marquette very rarely had snow days. I started texting my friends and classmates right away, and instead of taking an intense exam at 8 a.m., we ran outside to have a snowball fight and build snowmen. Such pure joy!