51Æ·²è

51Æ·²èwas one of the only schools that I was looking into that had a master’s degree in Athletic Training. In 2021, a change will take place that requires athletic trainers to have a master’s degree. If I had gone to any other school, by the 2021 change, I would only have a bachelor’s degree, whereas coming to 51Æ·²èon the 3+2 track, it was just another year to complete my master’s too.

There is a lot of support for the Athletic Training program here, especially from our professors and advisors. They are constantly helping to build relationships with clinical sites and to place us in interesting positions. They also assist us in finding conferences to go to, like ones through the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA).

There are always unique opportunities available to us. There was even a trip this year where a group went to Lake Placid to visit the Olympic training facility.

Hands-on Learning

There are so many facilities for us to use right here on campus. Most of my classes are in the Harold Alfond Forum, which is great because there are classrooms, the gym, the training rooms, and the ice rink. We don’t have to travel or even go up to the Portland Campus for the Health Sciences once we reach our graduate-level work. It’s all right here [in Biddeford]. We can also live on campus throughout the duration of the program if we choose, which is a huge benefit because it’s such a great environment.

Last fall, I took a class that was basically an introduction to all things athletic training. We learned how to tape different injuries and do all of our wraps. We also did observation hours in the Forum. We would go into the AT room or sit at the games with the trainers to shadow them and see what they did for a routine pregame and postgame and how they handled situations during the game too. We also observed practices. The athletes would come in and see the ATs, and we observed those interactions for pre- and post-care.