“I get excited to go to class and clinicals every day because I know I am surrounded by others passionate about the same thing that I am.”
With athletics having always been a big part of her life, Kaija knew she wanted this to continue as she moved through Gustavus and onto a career.
She first became aware of athletic training as a career possibility in high school as a member of the diving and gymnastics teams. Often finding herself in her high school’s athletic training room, she realized that she was interested in injury treatment and rehabilitation processes. After asking her athletic trainer how she could pursue an athletic training career, she says “I found out that I could go to Gustavus for athletic training and continue to dive on the swim and dive team.”
One of the most valuable parts of the athletic training program for Kaija is the community atmosphere. Describing the department as “welcoming, encouraging, and accommodating,” Kaija recognizes the close-knit community within the department as a helpful environment for her education.
She points to the faculty within the department as being “understanding of us as students” and as helping “guide us in a direction to succeed.” In particular, Kaija appreciates Professor Wade Green, saying, “He ensures that each student understands what he is teaching and provides many examples” and “he will not let a student be confused or go unheard.”
Another important aspect of the Athletic Training Department for Kaija is the opportunity for hands-on experience. Within the athletic training department, students have a required number of clinical hours each semester. These hours consist of multiple clinical rotation sites, “exposing us to many different patient populations.” Kaija has gained experiences with athletic teams on campus, and has shadowed PAs in the Mankato Urgent Care and Sports Medicine Department.
Kaija’s favorite class within the department has been Therapeutic Agents in Athletic Training, which was another valuable hands-on learning experience for her. She says that this class “let us apply what we learned in the classroom to our clinical experiences.”
Outside of her major, Kaija is a member of the Gustavus Dive team, and she is also a part of the Delta Phi Omega sorority.