Alumni Newsletter
Athletic Training Program
Hi, OSU Athletic Training Alums and Friends,
On behalf of the OSU Athletic Training Program, I would like to wish you all happy holidays. As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share some updates from the program.
- Sam Johnson
Dam Proud Day
In April, the program participated in our first Dam Proud Day.
In addition to fundraising, AT students hosted a table educating the OSU community about athletic training as part of on- campus festivities.
I was humbled by the outpouring of support for the Athletic Training Scholarship that was started by Dr. Richard Irvin and is given annually to an athletic training student. As part of the campaign, there was a challenge gift in honor of Barney Graff in appreciation of his mentorship. Also, Kim Hannigan served as a Dam Proud Day Ambassador and was in the top five of all ambassadors in the dollars she raised!
Thank you to everyone that gave or supported our efforts!
Class of '25
In June, we celebrated our most recent graduates. It’s always great to celebrate students’ accomplishments!
We welcome these 13 students as alumni and look forward to all the great things they will do as athletic trainers.
Dr. Katie Walsh Flanagan, '80
Also in June, it was great to re-connect with some of you in Orlando for Convention.
It was also an honor to watch OSU program alum Dr. Katie Walsh Flanagan (Class of 1980) be inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame. You can read the College of Health’s interview with her.
2027 cohort
This summer, we welcomed the next cohort of students into the program. It’s hard to believe these 16 students are the 10th cohort of master’s students!
We have enjoyed getting to know them and watch them grow as young professionals over the summer and fall terms.
Internship spotlights
Our program is somewhat unique in that between the first and second years in the program, students can complete internships that are outside of the program.
This past summer, several students participated in these internships.
- Joe Francisco gained more D1 experience with the University of Washington.
- Alyssa Woodberry worked a number of rodeos with Ken Kladnik, former OSU athletic trainer.
Yoojeong Kim (pictured right) was with the Seattle Seahawks for preseason. We are grateful for the continued support from the athletic training staff with the Seahawks, including OSU alumni CJ Neumann, David Stricklin and Mackenzie Marques (pictured left).
Yu-Ting Cindy Tzeng was awarded the Helen Lemieux Summer Internship at Shriners Hospital in Portland. This internship allowed her to work with Jessica Martschinske ATC and physicians at Shriners. We were told that Yu-Ting was the first athletic training student to be awarded this internship! Congrats to her and to everyone at Shriners for making it possible.
Nancy Kramer and Ropes Robertson
In October, we welcomed William “Ropes” Robertson’s daughter, Nancy Kramer, and her husband to campus. As many of you know, Ropes was the first athletic trainer at OSU and was instrumental in founding the academic program.
Over the year, we have been connecting with program alumni that were students under Ropes, ATs who worked with him, former athletes, and his family. We have learned so much about this incredible individual, especially from Nancy. Students even had some time to spend time with Nancy and to hear firsthand the impact Ropes had at OSU.
If you did not see the story in Synergies about Ropes, I encourage you to check it out.
A big thank you to Kathryn Stroppel, Director of Marketing and Communications for the College of Health, for time she has put in interviewing folks and writing the stories. She’s working on another for the spring issue of the Oregon Stater. If you have stories to share about Ropes, please reach out to her!
Kudos
- Ken Cameron (Class of 1993) finished his term as President of the NATA Research and Education Foundation in June.
- Cathy Brown Crowell (AT Faculty) published Healthcare Utilization and Provider Workload in Collegiate Student Athletes for Acute, Overuse, Time-Loss and Non-Time-Loss Injuries in the Journal of Athletic Training.
- Colin Mulligan (AT Faculty) published Lower Extremity Energy Absorption In Individuals With Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Injury History During Functional Tasks: A Scoping Review in Clinical Biomechanics.
Preceptor spotlight
Bryan Painter (Class of 1990) retired after many years serving Corvallis High School. Since Bryan served as a preceptor to many of our program alumni, we asked him to reflect on his time as a preceptor.
How long have you served as a preceptor?
33 years
What do you like best about being a preceptor?
I really enjoy teaching students. I like teaching them real-life situations.
What is your fondest memory or memories of working with an athletic training student?
Enjoying working hard to prepare for football/soccer games and then enjoying the game with the students.
What will you miss the most about being a preceptor?
Friendships.
What will you miss the least about being a preceptor?
Student evaluations!
What advice do you have for current and future students in the program?
I always discuss salaries/hours. I've seen too many ATCs quit athletic training altogether because of one or the other. The other thing is I tell them, when they get out, is that they are just entry level ATs and should never quit trying to learn.
What is the biggest change you have seen in athletic training / athletic training education / athletic training students during your career?
We've come a long way in athletic training, and it's been very fluid. It seems like right now everything is hands-on therapy (graston, ASTYM). Electrical modalities were king when I first started, and now we barely use them. The use of ice has changed so much. Years past, we would go through 3,000 bags in a school year. This year, maybe 800.
If you could go back in time when you were first starting your career, what advice would you give yourself?
Early on, I thought I knew everything! The past 15 years, I have really spent a lot of time learning even more.
What’s next for you?
I'll continue to work, but at Beaver sports medicine as an athletic trainer. Daytime job, far fewer hours. I still need medical insurance. lol.