• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Features
  • Campus News
  • CSUDH.edu
  • Contact
  • People
    • Staff Spotlight
    • Faculty Highlights
    • Alumni
  • Magazine
  • For Journalists
    • CSUDH In The News
    • Press Releases
    • Facts and Figures
    • Find Media Experts
    • Gallery
    • News Reporting on Campus

CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Orthotics

Toro Experts Featured on “The Ellen Show” Series

April 28, 2022 By Lilly McKibbin

Christi Hoehn and CSUDH faculty member Jennifer Lučarević.
Christi Hoehn and CSUDH faculty member Jennifer Lučarević.

For CSUDH lecturer and physical therapist Jennifer Lučarević, helping people to fulfill their dreams of walking is one of the best perks of the job. So, when she was asked by “The Ellen Show” to help Christi Hoehn–a bilateral amputee–walk unassisted in just six weeks, Lučarević was up for the challenge.

Hoehn was being featured by “Next Chapter,” a series on “The Ellen Show” that follows stories about people on the verge of major life changes. Hoehn, who has used a wheelchair for the past 16 years, had set a goal for herself of not only giving her first motivational speech to an audience, but also to walk onto the stage unassisted on her new prosthetic legs. The Ellen Show producers surprised Hoehn with one-on-one physical therapy sessions with Lučarević, who specializes in gait training for people with new prostheses.

Episode 1

“I really admired Christi because her goal was extremely ambitious,” Lučarević said. “Four to six months would have been a more realistic timeline. She had a fantastic attitude, and wanted to do this for herself.”

Left to right: Student Quinn Mehigan, Hoehn, student Taylor Warren, and alumnus Uilliam Yongjin Lee

Lučarević wasn’t the only Toro assisting Hoehn, whose therapy and exercises often took place at the CSUDH Orthotic and Prosthetic Education Center. Uilliam Yongjin Lee, who earned his master’s degree in orthotics and prosthetics at CSUDH, built Hoehn’s prostheses. Current students at the center were able to observe how Lee and Lučarević worked together to create adjustments and overcome challenges as the weeks continued.

Episode 2

“It was full circle for our students, being able to learn from an alum,” Lučarević said. “That’s what’s cool about this profession–people build relationships and give back.”

To help Hoehn reach her goal, Lučarević assigned a “pretty aggressive” exercise program, and also accompanied her to the gym to show her how to safely use equipment. At the end of the six weeks, Hoehn was able to walk in front of family and friends before delivering her speech. For Lučarević, seeing Hoehn succeed was “utterly magical.”

Episode 3

“We don’t always get to see the impact, or how friends and family perceive the change,” she said. “I got to see the journey, the hard days, the tears. It means that much more to be invited into her world and see her actualize her dream.

“Don’t be afraid to chase those goals, as hard as they seem,” she added. “If you’re willing to put in the work, magic does happen.”

Primary Sidebar

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
2nd in Economic Mobility

Press Releases

Installation view of “Personal, Small, Medium, Large, Family”

CSUDH University Art Gallery Presents “Personal, Small, Medium, Large, Family” by Mario Ybarra, Jr.

September 19, 2023

Student walking near Science and Innovation building on campus.

CSUDH Recognized as a Top Performer in the 2023 Sustainable Campus Index

September 15, 2023

Map showing geography of Southern California

Getty Foundation Awards CSUDH $180,000 for Brackish Water Los Angeles

May 9, 2023

See all Press Releases ›

CSUDH in the News

Students working on computers.

Daily Breeze: CSUDH Offers New Master Program for Incarcerated People for Fall 2023

September 11, 2023

Woman doing work on a computer.

KTLA: California Department of Corrections, CSU Dominguez Hills Unveils Graduate Program for Inmates

September 5, 2023

Exterior photograph of San Quentin State Prison

EdSource: A First for California’s Incarcerated Students – Now They Can Earn Master’s Degrees

September 5, 2023

See more In the News ›

Faculty Highlights

Headshot of Carolyn Caffrey.

Faculty Highlights: September 2023

Headshot of Jonathon Grasse

Faculty Highlights: August 2023

Rama Malladi

Faculty Highlights: July 2023

Staff Spotlight

Cesar Mejia Gomez

Staff Spotlight: Cesar Mejia Gomez

Staff Spotlight: Ludivina Snow

Staff Spotlight: Gilbert Hernandez

Footer

California State University, Dominguez Hills Logo

Related Sites

  • csudh.edu
  • magazine.csudh.edu
  • gotoros.com

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Get CSUDH News directly in your inbox

Copyright © 2023 · California State University, Dominguez Hills