Grace Dixon

“Some people go to the gym, some people read,” says Grace Dixon. “I like this whole farm thing. I can be stressed out about an exam, but stacking 100 bales of hay is my stress relief. This is my zone.”

Grace is referring to her volunteer work at Peaceful Acres Horses, an animal sanctuary about 30 miles from Russell Sage College’s Troy campus.

She became acquainted with Peaceful Acres for an assignment in “Innovating to Impact: Your Engagement with the Community,” the final course in Sage’s general education program that connects students with projects in the wider community.

She found her experience at Peaceful Acres to be so meaningful that she’s remained involved, helping to care for 90 rescued horses and to maintain 156 acres.

“I started with three hours a week, now I do close to seven or eight,” she says. “You name the task and I’ll jump right on it.”

Grace earned her bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with the Class of 2022, and now is pursuing a doctorate in Physical Therapy at Sage.

Her interest in possibly becoming a physical therapist who works with animals is one of the reasons she chose Peaceful Acres for her service-learning project. (She’s also considering specializing in pediatrics or sports medicine.)

“If I do choose to pursue the certification for animal physical therapy, I have to make sure I am comfortable with whatever the animal is,” she says.

Her DPT classes started the Monday after graduation.

“They really throw it at you. It’s like, Hold on! Hold on!” she says, laughing about the pace.

Still, it’s been a smooth transition, she continues.

“The classes we took in undergrad helped prepare us, especially the writing we had to do for every class. Because writing is a huge part of graduate school.”

And when school-related stresses inevitably do occur, she knows the horses and the farm will continue to be the perfect antidote.

She looks forward to introducing her Physical Therapy classmates to Peaceful Acres.

“I’m going to see if I can get something going between the PT Club and the farm,” she says, “and see if we can do some therapy horse sessions, to take stress out.”