Athletic Training Alumni Newsletter 2017 – Director’s Column
Posted: June 13, 2017
As we approach the end of another academic year, I hope this newsletter finds you taking some time for yourself to relax with family and friends. This is another year of firsts for our program, with five students having completed their doctor of athletic training degree. We will be celebrating them as the first DAT graduating class at the ATSU-ASHS graduation in August. In addition, we will be saying farewell to the 10 students of the MS-AT class of 2017 and will be welcoming in 11 students into our MS-AT class of 2019.
We hosted the second annual DAT Winter Institute this past February and welcomed an outstanding group of guest faculty: David Perrin, PhD; Andy Winterstein, PhD; Mark Laursen, MS, ATC; Sara Brown, MS, ATC; Forrest Pecha, MS; and Kim Terrell, MS, who along with our faculty spent the week engaging with over 30 DAT students. The focus remained on innovation in athletic training, and as with the inaugural event, it was wonderful to see the passion and excitement for the profession among those in attendance.
Our Athletic Training Student Association has remained active in the University and community, taking on many leadership roles at University-wide events including the Team of Physicians for Students sports physicals. The ATSA is also responsible for the content of this alumni letter, and I appreciate their efforts in providing updates to the rest of the ATSU athletic training family.
We are proud to report several notable accomplishments among students, alumni, and faculty this past year. Hannah Horris, AT, ’17, was awarded the Dwight Patterson Youth Sports Scholarship for her efforts in promoting youth sports safety. Alex Allen, AT, ’17, and Matt Hussey, AT, ’18, are finalists in the NATA Foundation Free Communication Master’s oral and poster categories, respectively. Michelle Weber, MS, ’14, will be awarded an NATA Foundation doctoral scholarship and Casey Erickson, MS, ’16, (current DAT) will be receiving the RMATA district doctoral scholarship. We also congratulate Kenny Lam, ScD, ATC, for being awarded tenure within ATSU-ASHS this past year.
This past year, the MS-AT program submitted its self-study and had the CAATE site visit. We are pleased to report we have been granted the maximum seven years of continuing accreditation, and thank our students, preceptors, alumni, faculty, and administration for their input and efforts. In general, the site visitors noted several strengths of our program, including the faculty as nationally recognized experts in their fields for scholarship and professional service, curriculum built on faculty expertise, alignment with the post-professional core competencies, comprehensiveness of the assessment plan, synergy between didactic and clinical education, service provided by the GA positions to the community, and student and faculty research productivity.
We look forward to seeing you in Houston where the Athletic Training programs will be well represented. We have 26 free communications presentations and seven session presentations. Please join us at the alumni reception on Wednesday, June 28, at the Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker St, Houston (Level 3, River Oaks A). If you did not receive the event information, please visit atsu.edu/alumni-nata or contact ATSU Alumni Relations at alumniaz@atsu.edu.
We would like to thank Sarah Piebes, MS, ATC, ’08, and Thad Walker, MS, ATC, ’03, for their service on the ATSU-ASHS Alumni Chapter Board. Thad is completing his term this month, and Tim Nicolello, MS, ATC, ’11, will take his place in representing alumni. Serving on the Alumni Board is not the only way to support the program. First, we simply ask that if you’ve moved recently or have just fallen out of touch that you take the time to renew your relationship to the program and to the University. Just visit the ATSU alumni page at https://atsu.edu/alumni for more information on how to do that.
Second, please consider providing your financial support to the Dwight Patterson Youth Sports Scholarship. This scholarship is the primary fundraising target for the program. It is reserved for current athletic training students whose research or leadership activities involve youth sports safety.
If you are interested in donating to the scholarship, please visit https://atsu.edu/dwightpatterson.
Your gift will be directed to the Dwight Patterson Youth Sports Scholarship fund. Additional information about the scholarship and opportunities to donate will be available at the alumni reception in Houston. We appreciate your support!
Remember, the ATSU Athletic Training program has a Facebook page. “Like” us at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ATSU-Athletic-Training-Program/49842899360
Looking forward to catching up with you in Houston!
Tamara Valovich McLeod, PhD, ATC, FNATA
Director, Athletic Training