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Appalachian's best kept secret:
athletic training program
Application process keeps competitive
edge with high selectivity, rigorous standards |
by Jana K. Nordstrand
Staff Writer
Appalachian State University has been keeping a secret.
Appalachian has one of the most renowned athletic training
programs in the country, and March has been delegated as National
Athletic Trainers Month to recognize and celebrate those who
assist athletes in preventing, recognizing and healing injuries
and ailments.
“With Appalachian as one of the
oldest programs in the nation, people say that they look for
Appalachian graduates with a degree in athletic training because
we are accredited," junior athletic training major Elysa
R. Appel said. Personally, I have worked with other programs
at universities, and this one is the most hands-on."
The program maintains a competitive edge with a rigorous application
process. Students must pass an interview, have recommendations
and shadow a trainer for a semester – keeping a journal
of his or her experiences.
This semester, 16 new student athletic trainers were accepted,
putting the department at its 32-student limit.
“The
types of students that we are looking for are those who are
interested in working with athletes from a rehabilitation
and assessment perspective.
"They have to have
good work ethic and a willingness to go the extra mile and
be enthusiastic and flexible," Athletic Training Education
Program Director Dr. Jamie L. Moul said.
After the application process, the trainers are moved around
to a different sport each week.
The fall after entering the program, the student trainer is
assigned a specific sport.
Since joining the program as a freshman, Appel has worked
with volleyball, wrestling and football, and is currently
assisting men and women’s tennis.
Moving the trainers around gives them a chance for hands-on
experience with each sport and gives trainers-to-be a broader
knowledge of the field in general.
A large percentage of the trainers are women.
“I
haven’t really found a problem with this. If you give
the athletes the respect they deserve, they will give you
the same respect,” Appel said.
For Appel, her fifth semester in the program has taught her
enough to solidify her dreams of becoming a special education
teacher and athletic trainer or coach at a high school.
Appel attended the National Athletic Trainer convention in
St. Louis, Mo., in 2003. Appel plans to go to the convention
again, held this year in Baltimore, Md.
“Attending
the convention is a good way to meet people in the field,
to network and to open yourself up for more opportunities.
It was a really great experience,” Appel said.
“Time management is one of the biggest challenges
that I have faced, but I put in as much time as I can, because
the more I do, the more I learn. I just try to balance my
time because the worst thing you can do is get burned out,”
Appel said.
With injuries occurring everyday, from a blister to a blown
knee, Appel has been able to assist with many physical injuries
and has observed two major surgeries.
By taking the initiative and asking her head trainer if observing
was something she could be a part of, Appel was able to be
in the operating room and watch a shoulder and knee surgery
at Watauga Medical Center.
“I have just always
been fascinated with the physiology of the body and anatomy,”
Appel said.
Prior to obtaining hands on experience with the athletes,
the student trainers must be proficient in certain areas.
A student trainer may assess all injuries, but a certified
trainer will perform the final analysis.
Writing a subjective, objective, assessment and planning (SOAP),
the student trainers handle paperwork while learning how to
report an injury.
With plans to attend seminary next fall, senior athletic training
major Kristen M. Lye hopes to extend her knowledge of the
field across borders.
While helping with a softball event in Zimbabwe, Lye realized
the urgent need for athletic trainers when a little girl overheated
and no one was there to immediately respond.
Lye said she plans to apply the skills she obtained from the
athletic training program in third-world countries, in order
to provide a basic level of healthcare.
“
The program challenges you to grow as a person and as a student.
From it, I have gained personal skills from time management
to critical thinking.
"The profession demands
a wide variety of abilities that I will be able to apply in
my life,” Lye said. |
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| Students make their mark with ACT's Alternative
Spring Break |
by Jana K. Nordstrand
Staff Writer
A group of nine Appalachian State University students and
one staff member set out to make a big difference in the 300-million-acre
Gila National Park in New Mexico.
Appalachian & the Community Together supported nine trips
this year for Alternative Spring Break, but the trip to New
Mexico was the first of its kind.
Foresters took the students to a section of the park outside
Silver City, N.M.
With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, Appalachian
students were joined by students from the University of Pittsburgh
in their part of trail maintenance, an area becoming more
neglected by the day.
“The unfortunate part about the whole operation is that
there is not enough money in the budget to hire crews to maintain
it. It is left to about one to seven people to maintain the
whole thing,” senior construction major Seth W. Wiseman
said.
Two years ago, two of the districts had enough money to hire
six trail maintenance crews, each consisting of four people.
This summer, two districts in Gila National Park, which combine
their funds, will not have enough money to hire one crew.
“All of this just goes to show how much they rely on
volunteer crews to maintain the trails. However, volunteerism
is down because people are more concerned with their own lives,”
Wiseman said.
“The purpose of Alternative Spring Break is to step
out of the traditional realm of a Spring Break where you head
off into college mayhem associated with partying, but instead
decide to choose an area of service that you are really interested
in and falling into that choice. It really gives you a chance
to escape college life, even just for a week,” Wiseman
said.
The other eight trips range from places in South Carolina
to Washington, D.C., and are all destinations that can be
reached within a day’s time, with a 15-passenger van
as the means of transportation.
“After the installation of the Alternative Spring Break
to New Mexico, I hope that the program continues to grow,”
junior political science major and National Arbor Day Foundation
member John C. Barefoot said.
Although the trip to New Mexico was more than triple the price,
$525 in comparison to the $150 cost for trips within the 500-mile
radius, students were not deterred.
“This trip means a lot to the program because it means
it is growing. It was a big step in extending the program,
“ senior recreation management and geology major Katie
G. Thomson said.
After setting up their campsite in the remnants of the recent
12-inch snow, the students adjusted to the great outdoors.
“We were actually at a pretty luxurious campsite with
pit toilets and water,” Thomson said.
Waking up everyday at sunrise in a two-person tent to breakfast
over a fire, the students experienced what Thomson refers
to as “trip magic,” each day setting out into
the wilderness to do their part.
In an attempt to protect water quality and erosion, the group
mainly focused its attention toward creek and river crossings.
To accomplish this, they put rocks across the river and set
up water bars to assist with water drainage.
“Erosion is a big issue at the elevation where we were
at (7,500 feet), because by protecting water quality in higher
elevations, it protects the water quality in lower, more arid
regions,” Thomson said.
Aside from trail maintenance, the students were able to visit
the cliff dwellings where a small group of Native Americans
once lived.
“This (the visit) was a highlight of the trip and a
huge cultural experience. Seeing where the Native Americans
were in the cliff dwellings really displayed some history.
Having that opportunity is an aspect culturally that many
people overlook. Saving those parts of the untamed west is
also something we are attempting to do,” Wiseman said.
“It is amazing how much diversity we have within the
U.S., and it is encouraging to see that there are not only
students here at Appalachian that are concerned with the environment,
but students nationally,” Wiseman said.
Many of the students were confronted with a realization about
the need for funding for such projects and the attention that
must be given to maintaining a park like Gila.
“How important it is that these programs receive funding
from the national government, which right now they are not,
the priorities have changed, but if something doesn’t
happen, areas like Gila will suffer tremendously,” Wiseman
said.
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