OSU student lands NFL internship after life and death experience
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Kevin Ortega
So what made the big difference in year three? “I think it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I happened to get some real life experience in helping to resuscitate someone and the recognition we received,” said Ortega, a junior from Midwest City. He was part of a team of athletic training students and professionals that helped revive a teenager who suffered a cardiac arrest last summer at an OSU wrestling camp.
The teenager recovered and Ortega was among the students and professional athletic trainers who were honored with an Oklahoma Heart Hero award from Oklahoma Heart Hospital last August.
“I think that noting the award on my resume with my intern requests probably made the difference in attracting an NFL offer,” said Ortega. “It showed that I could stay calm and work fast and effectively in an emergency situation. I credit that to my schooling in the great athletic training program here at OSU.”
He also credits OSU’s athletic training staff for encouraging him to apply for the special internships that are usually limited to about four per team. “If you don’t apply, you don’t get the chance. It doesn’t matter whether you win awards or not.”
Ortega will leave for Florida about the middle of July and stay with the Dolphins until the end of the preseason in early September.
As for the future, Ortega says he definitely wants to stay in the sports medicine field. “I plan to try to go to an osteopathic medical school and specialize in sports medicine. I hope the internship with the Dolphins will help me as I pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon for a sports team or possibly as an athletic trainer for a team.”