Athletic training major "gets real" at Stillwater High School

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

An affinity for sports, the outdoors and helping others led Emilie Troxell, from Pampa, Texas, to the dugout of a Pioneers' baseball game. The Oklahoma State University senior has spent the last year assisting the sports teams at Stillwater High School as an athletic trainer. 

"Being an athletic training major, it's part of our curriculum to have clinical rotations. I've been at Stillwater High School all year working with all sports, football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, cheerleading, anything that we have, I've worked with it," said Troxell.

While she considered becoming a physical therapy major, Troxell combined her love of sports, the outdoors and helping others to fuel her love of athletic training.

"We take care of injuries and illnesses. Anytime somebody is hurt, we can do rehab or we can refer him or her to an orthopedic doctor. We're the glue that holds it all together."

Dr. Matthew O'Brien, an assistant professor and the clinical education coordinator at OSU, helped assign Troxell to Stillwater High School.

"We have accreditation standards that require us to place students in a variety of clinical settings during their three years in the formal portion of the program," he explained. "These can range from eight weeks initially to full semester assignments. Prior to the senior year, we work with the student to determine the type of career path they would like to follow after graduation. Emilie envisions a career in a high school setting, so we paired her with the instructor at Stillwater High School. Senior assignments last the entire academic year so that they can truly gain an appreciation for the clinical expectations."

Troxell is thankful for the networking opportunities OSU has provided. "I've met a lot of different people within the athletic training field," she said. "I've become really involved in my major and my professors have helped me to grow my leadership skills and my confidence as a student. Being able to be a health care professional on my own is a huge thing that not everyone quite understands until you're put in the moment."

While she is graduating in May, Troxell plans to remain in school until she earns a master’s degree.

"I hope to become a certified athletic trainer in June. Next year, I'm going to take a graduate assistant position at Angelo State University, in San Angelo, Texas. I'll be working with their women's soccer team as a certified athletic trainer as a graduate student so I can get my master's. After I finish that, I hope to become a teacher and an athletic trainer at a high school." 

Story by Kim Hunter