Growing up, I wanted to be a fashion designer. Fast forward twenty-one years, and here I am in my second to last year in the Athletic Therapy program at Camosun College!
When I stumbled upon this program, I knew it was for me - being able to help people get back to a sport they loved to do and implementing strategies to prevent future injuries - it felt like a dream come true! Being a former national level swimmer, I knew how it felt to leave a sport due to a chronic injury. I feel as though it is a passion of mine to ensure I can support and help future athletes that may end up in the same situation I too faced.
Throughout the first couple of years as a student Athletic Therapist you are faced with many challenges. Most days are a marathon: classes from 8:30 A.M to 2:30 P.M followed by practicum for two to three more hours afterwards and attempting to maintain something that resembles a social and personal life. Can you say exhausting? During your first few years you learn practical skills - a few being taping and emergency care - and trying to apply these in a field practicum setting. Building off those few practical courses in third year, you learn to branch and grow the foundational field-based skills into more complex clinical skills preparing you for your final year before certification.
My first practicum was with a high school football team. Football being a sport I wasn’t particularly familiar with nor ever played. During this practicum, I made a strong connection with the Certified Athletic Therapist who was overseeing me, and she became a mentor and a good friend of mine. She taught me numerous lessons about football as well as the age population we were working with (I swear teenage boys are a different breed!), but most importantly she opened my eyes to future career paths in Athletic Therapy.
Coming into my third year of this program, graduation has become more and more within my reach. I can feel the rush of excitement, but the reality of the what comes next feeling also starts to set in. Thanks to the help of my mentors, I’ve become more motivated than ever to put all of my effort into discovering new areas of interest and working towards solidifying where my career will take me post-graduation. I’ve learnt that there are many avenues involved with being an Athletic Therapist.
The important part isn’t knowing what exact route I will take, but enjoying the experiences that led me there and continuing to follow the passion that led me to discovering this program. I may not be a fashion designer, but I cannot think of anything better than helping people get back to doing what they love to do!
- Julie Wing
(3rd Year Student Athletic Therapist at Camosun College)
