Sandra Teague was caring, fun-loving, outgoing and relentlessly independent. A racquetball injury and subsequent treatment by a physical therapist opened her eyes to the profession, so she quit her advertising job and went back to school. After completing DMU’s master of physical therapy program in 1998, she landed a position at Georgetown University Hospital, where she was considered “an excellent clinician and a rising star” by her colleagues.
Sandra then spent a year planning a three-week adventure to Australia, her first trip abroad and one she was taking by herself. “She didn’t believe in having anyone hold her hand,” says her father, Jim Teague.
Tragically, Sandra was on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people on the plane and in the building. The news stunned family, friends and the DMU community. Within weeks, family members, the DMU physical therapy class of 1998 and program faculty and staff made donations to establish the Sandra Teague Memorial Scholarship Fund. The endowed fund supports students in their final year in DMU’s doctor of physical therapy program.
“We wanted to create something that would continue helping students,” Jim Teague says. “Sandra loved physical therapy, and she loved DMU. This is a one way for me to keep her memory alive. And I know it would please her, too.”