Small school pushed, supported graduate
Karen Peterson photo
Samantha-Morigeau Donaldson takes a short break after earning her doctorate in physical therapy.
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ARLEE – Samantha Morigeau-Donaldson didn’t set out to become a doctor at such a young age, but after 21 years in school, she graduated with a doctorate in physical therapy at her last graduation ceremony in May from the University of Montana, four days after her 25th birthday.
“I just kept on going,” she said. “I thought if I took a break, I might never get back to it, and I like being a student.”
She started school at the age of four in the Arlee Head Start program before moving on to the Arlee School District, where she finished her K-12 education. She doesn’t think going to a small school made it difficult to attend her advanced programs.
“Small schools support you and they know who you are. All my teachers really supported me and pushed me to do more than the minimum,” Samantha said. “You have to be really sneaky if you want to slack off in a small school.”
In high school, she loved math classes.
“My high school math classes helped me get through my undergrad classes, and I also used what I learned in a high school physics class in college,” she said.
She gives her parents credit for helping her create an interest in math. They let her learn to count change in the Arlee bowling alley they ran in the ‘90s.
“She would get up on a stool to reach the cash register,” her father Dane Morigeau said.
As a father of five, Dane discovered the secret to raising teenage kids.
“You dangle the car keys in front of them,” he said. “If they don’t do well in school, they get their keys taken away.”
Samantha added that his technique worked when she started driving.
“I loved my car,” she said.
She used sports to keep herself busy.
“I was always in sports. I think in a small school, sports are very important. They give kids something to do in a small town. And in a small school, I never had to compete for a spot on the team. If I wanted to, I could always play. It was team building and it developed leadership skills.”
After graduating from high school, Samantha was ready for some adventure.
“I wanted to be able to help my community in some way,” she said, “but I also wanted to get away for a while.”
She packed up her bags and went to Carroll College to get her undergraduate degree in biology. It provided her the escape she wanted without being overwhelming.
“I liked the small class sizes,” she said.
It took her a few years to decide on a career path, but she eventually chose to attend the University of Montana for their physical therapy program. Remembering a sports injury to the knee in soccer when she was in junior high school eventually helped her make her career decision.
“I remembered really liking everything about physical therapy,” she said. “I wanted to do that: to do more for people than put ice on an injury. I wanted to be able to help people.”
Samantha was also inspired to help people after watching her father volunteer for many service programs like the emergency response team and the volunteer fire department, and seeing her mother’s involvement in nursing.
“I’ve been around accidents my whole life,” she said.
Samantha’s name has become a bit of an alphabet soup in the past few years. At the end of her name she’s got her physical therapy title. After getting an Emergency Medical Technician’s license, she can add an AEMT at the end of her name. She’s also the lieutenant training coordinator for the Arlee Fire Department, which puts lieutenant at the front of her name. Not to mention that she got married in college to Ian Donaldson and added a hyphen to her last name to attach her married one.
“It’s become a complicated name,” she said.
She asked patients in her clinical internship to call her Sam. Although, she said, her age got her a few raised eyebrows.
“They told me I was too young to be a doctor.”
Samantha took that as a compliment for how much she’s accomplished at such a young age. After the shock of not being in school wears off, she plans to discover another path to achievement. Her father hopes her diverse resume along with years of schooling helps her continue to succeed.
“She’s also a tribal member,” her father said, saying she might find something with the tribe or maybe the Olympics. “Her great grandpa was Tony Charlo.”
At a graduation party, Samantha was surrounded by large party balloons and family.
“We are so proud of her,” her mother Malissa Morigeau said. “Whatever she does next, we are proud of her.”
