School-wide Speech Opportunity: Athletic Training by Callie

School-wide Speech Opportunity: Athletic Training by Callie - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

Given the opportunity, I would address the topic of sports and athletic training to a school-wide audience, whether they have or do not have athletic trainers employed. Since most schools do have sports programs, and most students have had experience with sports, whether currently or in childhood, I believe this topic would not only be an important one to be expressed, but also could be relatively interesting to most of the audience.
As a current student of Ouachita Baptist University working to eventually become an athletic trainer, and student worker for the athletic trainers at the university, I get to experience what it is like as an athletic trainer, and how important they are to the athletic program and to the individual athletes. I have watched and worked with the athletic trainers to help injured athletes trying to rehabilitate to be able to get back to the sport they love. I have watched athletes fall in love with their athletic trainer, even to the point of referring to them as another parent. I have learned just how much athletic trainers mean to keep their athletes at one-hundred percent, so they can do their best in what they enjoy doing the most. Mostly, though, I have watched as these athletic trainers work as hard as they can, for multiple hours over the typical eight-hour day with no compensation, with no complaints, because they care enough not to.
What saddens me the most is that most people do not realize all that athletic trainers do. That they are qualified healthcare professionals, who are on the front lines if an athlete does get injured, and are there every step of the way after. This is why I would want to bring this topic up in front of a school-wide audience. It is an important topic, and one that is usually not presented. I know that I am biased, and that I have managed to fall in love with athletic training and even some athletic trainers themselves, but recognition by even a few for what they do puts the profession one step closer for the recognition it deserves.