ASU has a diverse range of departmental programs available to students; one of them being the athletic training department ran by Dr. Kristi White.
“I am currently applying and looking for jobs at the high school level as I hope to be an athletic trainer at a high school, preferably near Houston,” said Barrett Pace, senior athletic training major. “Having Dr. White as a professor has helped me and my classmates learn real world situations and what to do when injuries happen.”
Pace says he is anticipating graduating this May and is glad he was able to be a part of the athletic training program, which has shaped his expertise in treating sports injuries in sports like football, baseball, track and soccer. Pace is currently working with the track team, as they are in season and is on rotation with Lakeview High.
Dr. White who has been the director of the athletic department for seven years has started many programs since her arrival.
At the moment, some of the plans for the athletic department are to start a master’s degree program for athletic training in the summer of 2018 and to start a bachelor’s program in the health science profession.
“Primarily, my job is to teach students how to become athletic trainers,” White said. “I do contract work for the Shannon Clinic in the fall and go to Friday night football games.”
White says for students who are interested in a career in athletic training, one must not only have an interest in the field of science but also have great communication skills in order to effectively educate and treat their patients.
“I love being an athletic trainer and seeing injured athletes who are passionate about their sport overcome their injuries,” senior Payton Hunter said. “However, the biggest challenge in athletic training is being the first ones to arrive before practices and games and being the last ones to leave after putting in long hours, all while being a full time student.”
Senior Jasmine Hobbs says she enjoys athletic training and being able to be there for athletes whether they need support, simple first aid treatments or if they sustained a serious injury.
“I think the biggest challenge is that it’s very time consuming,” Hobbs said. “But I love to work with the athletes, the atmosphere at a football game is like nothing else.”