VCU Physical Therapy students are looking to extend their 5-year streak of winning the Marquette Challenge, a national fundraiser supporting the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research (FPTR). To honor this run of victories, the event has been renamed the VCU-Marquette Challenge for this year.

Student Julia Betancourt assumed the role of challenge coordinator for VCU’s Class of 2026 after learning the importance of the challenge to PT research. “This research helps guide our career in many ways, from what we learn in school to how we practice in the clinic,” she said. “It helps us develop the best interventions and technology, which is critical in an ever-changing field and world.”

Key efforts Betancourt has overseen include a booth at February’s American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting in Houston, Texas. There, she and other students discussed FPTR’s mission, passed out handmade bracelets and entered donors into a raffle.The annual PT golf tournament, a major Marquette Challenge fundraiser, took place in April at Hunting Hawk Golf Club, coordinated by Jace DePriest (Class of 2026).

Other fundraisers so far this year have included bake sales, a proceeds night at Gelati Celesti, and a cornhole tournament. More events will occur through the end of 2025. “Our events this year have been successful, but we still have a lot of time to keep fundraising,” Betancourt said. “We are very fortunate to have a supportive program full of students and professors who consistently show up and support each event we put on.”

By John Battiston