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Southern Maine Students Have Banner Year

Article reposted from University of Southern Maine
Author: University of Southern Maine

2016 has been a year filled with academic accomplishments for students in the University of Southern Maine Athletic Training Program. The accolades and recognition continued at this year’s National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (NATA) annual convention in Baltimore.

Incoming-senior Athletic Training student Leah Dell became the first representative from USM to compete in the NATA national student quiz bowl. At the conference, she was also presented with the Larry “Stosh” Neumann Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society.

Dell, a student in the Honors Program and a resident assistant on campus, earned the right to compete in the national quiz bowl after winning the regional crown in January. The Jeopardy-style competition pits regional teams of some of the top athletic training students in the country up against each other, testing their knowledge of the field.

Falling short of the winner’s circle, Dell acknowledged that the competition was “challenging.” But she mentions that she was honored to compete and was well prepared, thanks to her USM education.

“I was honored to represent USM in the Quiz Bowl, and proud to compete on the NATA’s District One team,” mentioned Dell. “To me, the fact that I made it to the national level proves that you don’t have to go to a fancy private school or a big D1 college to get a good education and excel academically.”

Dell’s prowess for the profession was further demonstrated after she received the “Stosh” Neumann scholarship. Applicants for the award were judged based on a number of different categories, such as academics, service, leadership and a demonstrated commitment to the field of athletic training. The $2,000 prize is named in honor of the former assistant athletic trainer of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, who battled brain cancer.

Photo of USM Athletic Training student Leah Dell (middle) competing at the National Athletic Training Association's Quiz Bowl

This isn’t the first academic prize that Dell has claimed this year, either. She was presented with the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA) Kerkor “KoKo” Kassabian District One Scholarship at the EATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium in January.

“Being awarded this scholarship after I won the EATA scholarship has made me really grateful for the experiences I have had the opportunity to take advantage of. I have tried to do a lot while at USM and become active in my field, and this shows me I am on the right track,” stated Dell.

“I’m really thankful for that,” Dell added.

(Pictured above, middle: USM Athletic Training student Leah Dell participating in the NATA national student quiz bowl at the NATA annual convention in Baltimore)

Shelby Watts, an incoming senior in the Athletic Training Program, officially began her term on the NATA’s Student Leadership Committee (SLC) at the NATA annual meeting in Baltimore. Watts is the first USM student to sit on the NATA’s SLC.

“Serving on the SLC will allow me to expand my athletic training network, give me experience in a leadership role and allow me to experience more of an office type of role in athletic training,” Watts stated. “USM also has a phenomenal athletic training program which has allowed me to develop my clinical skill set and instill self-confidence in my abilities to successfully work as an athletic training student,” mentioned Watts.

The mission of the SLC is to represent and advocate for students, create and promote professional development opportunities and encourage student engagement in the athletic training community.

Watts will serve as the representative for District One, the New England region, for a one-year term. She first heard of the opportunity when participating in her clinical rotation with Matt Gerken, USM’s head athletic trainer. He received an email about the opening and believed Watts would be the right fit. Gerken encouraged her to apply, a move that’s paid off for Watts.

“I believe that I will represent District One well because I am not afraid to voice my opinions and would be more than willing to hear what other students would like to see done differently,” added Watts.

Watts will sit on the planning subcommittee, where she will have a hand in planning all student-focused sections of next year’s NATA meeting in Houston. Watts will be responsible for connecting with members of the athletic training community to find speakers for the 2017 convention while also coordinating student activities. All tasks Watts will have to take on while balancing her normal course load, her duties as a Resident Assistant on campus and her responsibilities as president of USM’s Athletic Training Student Association.

The extra work shouldn’t be too much of a burden for Watts, especially when considering the fact that she’s chasing her passion. Even before enrolling in sports medicine courses in high school, Watts knew she was interested in the athletic training field. “By taking (classes in high school) I became more and more confident in my desire to become an athletic trainer and pursue it as a career,” she said.

Watts believes that serving on the SLC will help to provide her with the opportunities needed to stand above her peers when preparing for the next chapter in her academic career — graduate school.

The accomplishments of Dell, Watts and others in the program continue to demonstrate the high-quality educational opportunities offered for Athletic Training students at USM.

“The array of student accomplishments across this past year highlights both the strength of the University of Southern Maine’s Athletic Training Program and the quality of the program’s student body,” said  Dr. Brian Toy, director of the Athletic Training Education Program at USM. Indeed, Southern Maine’s Athletic Training Program is producing the athletic training profession’s leaders of tomorrow.”

To learn more about USM’s Athletic Training program, click here.

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Southern Maine Students Volunteer at Food Pantry

On Wednesday, March 9th, Noel Neptune, M.Ed., A.T.C., and University of Southern Maine Athletic Training students Heather Dean (sophomore), Leah Dell (junior), and Shelby Watts (junior) volunteered at Catherine’s Cupboard, a local non-profit food pantry based out of Standish, ME. USM volunteers helped clients shop from donated food and hygiene items, while also providing clients with a hot meal that evening. This is the first opportunity USM’s Athletic Training Student Association (ATSA) has had to work with Catherine’s Cupboard. ATSA members were grateful for the opportunity to help with this community service initiative and are looking forward to developing a long-lasting partnership with this organization.

For more information about Catherine’s Cupboard, please visit:https://www.sjcme.edu/ministry/catherines-cupboard/.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Southern Maine AT Students Attend Conference

On Friday, March 4th, students, faculty, and staff from USM’s Athletic Training Program attended the Maine Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (MATA) Spring Banquet and Clinical Symposium.During the day’s activities USM senior athletic training students Sam Davol and Nate Colpitts received the Wes Jordan and Carl Nelson scholarships, respectively. USM alumnus Kyle Gilson, ’11, athletic trainer at Maine Central Institute, was presented with the MATA’s prestigious Bill Cox Service Award.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Southern Maine Student Wins Quiz Bowl, Scholarship

Leah Dell, a junior in the Athletic Training Program at USM, had quite the successful weekend when she attended the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA) Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium Jan 8 – 11 in Boston.

Dell not only came away as the recipient of the EATA’s Kerkor “KoKo” Kassabian District One Scholarship, but also won the association’s student quiz bowl. The quiz bowl victory assures her a place in the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) student quiz bowl as the representative for District One of the EATA.

District One of the EATA is made up of the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

To Dell’s knowledge, she is the first student from USM to ever compete, let alone win, the quiz bowl.

“I was really excited about both the scholarship and the Quiz Bowl,” said Dell. “It kind of affirms my decision to study athletic training. I knew I was a good student within USM before this, but going out into the region and competing showed me what I am capable of.”

The Quiz Bowl challenged participants with questions in athletic training content areas such as injury assessment, therapeutic exercise and professional responsibility. After taking the lead approximately one-third of the way through the competition, Dell correctly answered the final question, solidifying her Quiz Bowl victory.

The NATA’s national student Quiz Bowl will take place at the association’s Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium on June 22 – 25 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The scholarship, named for the long time athletic trainer at Northeastern University, is valued at $3,000. Dell was also presented with a celebratory plaque at the EATA awards ceremony. A student in the USM Honors Program and a Resident Assistant on campus, Dell attributes her involvement in various campus activities along with the knowledge she received in the classroom as reasons why she earned the scholarship.

After winning the scholarship, Dell was approached by Dr. Brian Toy, director of the Athletic Training Education Program at USM, to compete in the quiz bowl since she would be at the meeting to accept the scholarship.

“I honestly wasn’t sure how it would go,” said Dell. “I figured it would be a fun way to test my knowledge and try something new.”

“By being awarded the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Kerkor ‘Koko’ Kassabian Scholarship, and by winning the Quiz Bowl, Leah has demonstrated, on a national stage, the academic successes she experiences on an everyday basis as a student in USM’s Athletic Training Program,” said Toy. “In addition, these accomplishments have once again highlighted the quality of both the students enrolled in USM’s Athletic Training Program and of those alumni currently working throughout the country in the field of Athletic Training.”

“USM has a really strong Athletic Training program, academics-wise, so I feel like the combination of good professors who really pushed me, and my own work ethic gave me a solid background of knowledge for the Quiz Bowl,” said Dell. “I got a bunch of questions right during it that not many other students were able to answer.”

Dell’s sponsor for the scholarship, USM alum and Thornton Academy Athletic Trainer Tony Giordano ’08, supervised Leah’s athletic training student clinical experience at Thornton Academy during the Fall 2015 semester.

“Education is about so much more than just the classroom,” added Dell. “I have definitely taken advantage of a lot of opportunities that USM has to offer.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
http://usm.maine.edu/publicaffairs/usm-athletic-training-student-leah-dell-wins-quiz-bowl-earns-scholarship-eastern

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Southern Maine AT Students host symposium

This past Saturday, the Athletic Training students at USM hosted the annual Maine Student AT Symposium. Started by USM 9 years ago, the symposium allows AT students from across the state to get together to network, listen to presenters brought in to speak on pertinent topics, learn material outside their normal coursework, and have fun. Plus, it’s a chance for the hosting school to show off their program. This year the theme of the symposium was “Traditional AT’s in Non-Traditional Settings”. So often we as students are given examples in class that revolve around the traditional settings of the AT, which include high school, college, and pro sports. However, athletic training is quickly becoming a more and more mobile career with jobs in doctor’s offices, physical therapy clinics, the military, dance troupes, and prosthetics to name a few. With so many options available, it is important to look beyond the traditional AT setting for job opportunities post college.

A highlight of the symposium was guest speaker Derek Solloway, LAT, ATC, PES, SSgt; USMC (Ret.) who came from D.C. to speak on the need for athletic trainers in the military. With so much demanded physically of soldiers it makes sense that AT’s could prove vital to increasing productivity and decreasing time lost to injury. Students in attendance got to learn about how uniform standards contribute to injury rates and biomechanical deficiencies. It is a field of work that few of us have had much exposure to.

Overall it was a fun and educational day, and was a great way to build up the student AT community of Maine. USM will next host the symposium four years from now in 2019.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
https://usm.maine.edu/ehss/athletic-training-symposium