Full Great Women Great Danes Interview Transcript
UAlbany's Great Women Great Danes is a series that will be published during Women's History Month. The series will feature Great Danes, past and present, and celebrate the women of UAlbany.
Q: Let's go back to college. You got your undergraduate degree from Russell Sage College. While you were there, did you spend time competing in college athletics?
A: I did, yeah. I played four years of softball and two years of basketball. I would have continued with basketball, but being an athletic training student, it started to take up a lot of my time, so I had to back off of basketball and just do softball because it was a shorter season.
Q: Can you give me some more details about your time and your experience as a student-athlete?
A: It was Division III so it's a lot different than Division I. I often drove the van to competitions … I kind of did a little bit of everything. We were close-knit group - it was a lot of fun and it was easy to manage because there weren't a lot of overnights like the kids do now. They have a lot of overnights; they have a lot of traveling … it wasn't like that. It was different on that aspect, but we spent a lot of time together and it was just fun. It was fun to be a student-athlete. And, I played close to home so my parents got to see me play a lot and that's always nice … to see your family in the stands.
Q: You mentioned being an athletic training student, but looking at your actual degree itself, it was physical education, teaching, and coaching. Is that how the degree path was or did you do something out of the norm?
A: That's a great question. Back when I was going to school 100 years ago, *laughs* there was a thing called an internship program or … I can't remember the exact name of it, but it was like an internship program. There weren't a lot of athletic training schools where you went to school for just athletic training so there was this route and you had to get more hours of observation. You had to get … I think 1800 hours of observation or something like that. You had to go in for a physical education degree, that was the closest degree you could get, and then concentrate in athletic training. All of my work outside of classroom was doing internships, being in the training room, doing camps in the summer, getting all of the experience I needed and taking the classes to go along with it so I could take my exam when I finished all of my hours. It's a different route than it is today … that route doesn't exist anymore. Now, you have to go to an athletic training school for five years, you have to get a master's degree … it wasn't that way when I was in school. I was encouraged to get a master's degree, so I did. I went to Indiana State and got my master's degree, and [it was] basically the same curriculum, physical education and sports medicine, but now all that's changed.
Q: Did you always have a plan to be an athletic trainer?
A: I did not. *laughs* I was always an athlete; sports were my hobby and that's all I really ever did. I was really interested in doing marine biology. So … two opposite ends of the spectrum. I loved SeaWorld growing up as a kid. I wanted to work with the whales *laughs* and be at SeaWorld. I loved the ocean. I loved Jacques Cousteau growing up. But then in high school, my basketball coach … we were talking one day in the van and I asked her what she majored in in college and she said athletic training. I had no idea what that was and as soon as she told me what it was, I just kind of lit up inside and I thought ‘that's what I want to do. I think I need to pursue that because I love sports.’ That's what drew me to that and now I get to help people and be around sports. It's kind of the best combination.
Q: Working through college, you had your time with your internship, you were a student athlete … After graduating with your master’s you came back home?
A: I tried hard not to. Not that I didn't want to be home, but I just … I felt like I was ready to start my career. I was going to stay in Indiana, I was going to house sit for the summer, try and find a job … back then, I was willing to go anywhere. I wanted to do anything. I was really enthusiastic and I just wanted to get going … and my parents said, "No, we're coming to get you," and they showed up at my door and we drove home. *laughs* I didn't get a job right away. I started my career at a physical therapy clinic a few years after I got home. It was totally random - I just got a call from my former boss and he wanted me to come work for him. I did that for five years and that was really good experience because I got to see the high school side of things which is completely different. So, I worked in the clinic during the day and then in the afternoons, I went to a different high school every day. I did that for five years so I got a really good solid clinical base and a rehabilitation base. My strong point was rehabilitation, coming in here, because I saw it every day. So, that was a great foundation. It was a great way to start my career.
Q: So just to back it up a little bit, you always knew you wanted to go into athletic training. Did you always know you wanted to go into college athletics?
A: I didn't, no. It was totally random. I thought I'll stay at the clinic for a while and figure out my next move. I actually wanted to try and work at Lake Placid or Colorado at the Olympic Training Center. That didn't come through. Then a former classmate of mine from Russell Sage worked here and when we went to Division I, they hired two more athletic trainers and she kind of went to bat for me and got me the job. I thought, wow, work at a Division I school … and I'm working softball, which I played, I'm working basketball, which I played, I'm working soccer, I'm working women's athletics, I did volleyball, I'm doing field hockey … and I thought, this is great! I'm working with females at a Division I level. This is where I want to be. And I just stayed. I got lucky. It pays to know people on that end … I got lucky. So, I might have still been at the clinic, but I think life has a way of working out. And when you look back, you can see how your life unfolds in the way that it's supposed to. I think I was supposed to be here.
Q: I do want to go in-depth about your time at UAlbany but before we do that … you mentioned maybe try to work at the Olympic Training Center. But you were a member of a group of people selected to work in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games.
A: I did. I didn't get to work at the training center, though. That's what I wanted to do. Butyeah, when I was working at the clinic, the ‘96 Olympics came around and they were looking for athletic trainers. Myself and my colleague applied and we went down and I spent two and a half weeks in Atlanta at the Olympics and I got assigned to the Georgia Dome. Half of the Georgia Dome, the Georgia Dome was big enough at that time, I think it's a new Georgia Dome now. They split it into two [sides]. One side was gymnastics, and one side was basketball. I got to work both and that was just … that was awesome. I came back from Atlanta and I was like, ‘oh, I can do anything.’ I went to Atlanta by myself, I can … I did this by myself for two and a half weeks and it was a really really good experience. And actually, Phil [Sykes], our field hockey coach was playing field hockey in the ‘96 Olympics so that's kind of a weird little twist. It was great.
Q: Can you tell me like a little bit more about your time in Atlanta during those two and a half weeks?
A: It was great! I stayed at a college just outside of town. I took the metro in every day to the Georgia Dome. I got to see great athletics right up close. I was on the floor for a lot of gymnastics. I was behind the bench for the women's gold medal basketball game. That was a thrill - being a big basketball fan. I was on the bench, sitting behind the bench, watching this team win a gold medal and suddenly taking pictures with my camera. *laughs* But that was really cool. I saw some basketball players, saw Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal], and I can't remember who else … I was there when Bill Clinton was there; I was in the park the night the bomb went off. I was back in my room by then … just all of these memories pop up and it was just a really, really fun experience. I met a lot of really nice people. Actually, one of the guys that I met, he's a massage therapist, I took a class from him a few years ago. He's a world-renowned massage therapist and I took a five-day intensive class with him … so another kind of weird twist. So yeah, it was really a highlight of my career, I have to say. It was cool.
Q: And so early on …
A: Yeah, and so early on. It was really intimidating going there by myself. I got there, and I had no housing. They just kind of … because I was an add-on, they kind of missed the housing thing, so on my birthday in the dorm, [I was] calling the guy in charge, saying, "I have no place to live, I don't even know if I'm in the right spot." But it worked out and it was just a lot of fun, just being that close to that situation and being involved. I'm actually a second-generation volunteer. I like to say I'm a second-generation volunteer. *laughs* My mom volunteered at the ‘80 Olympics in Lake Placid and she had some cool experiences, too. She was there for the Miracle on Ice. She was in the arena. So, I kind of like to say I'm a second-generation volunteer. I love having that on my resume. I think it's a really cool thing. It was a really cool experience.
Q: Okay, so now, coming back to UAlbany. You listed off a couple of sports that you worked with initially. How long have you worked with your current sports - field hockey and softball?
A: Field hockey - I think it's been 19 years … 19 or 20 years. Softball since I started, so 24.
Q: Would you say that you have a soft spot for those teams?
A: Oh, absolutely. *laughs* Yes, absolutely. Once I was able to cut it down to two sports and really concentrate on those two sports, yeah. Everybody always asks me, "Would you like softball or you like field hockey [more]?" And I always say, "I like the season I'm in," because I really do. I love field hockey, and I love softball, and I'm very competitive because I was an athlete, so I want to win and I get excited when the kids win. So yeah, I really have a soft spot in my heart for both those sports. I don't see myself switching at all.
Q: Being at the scorer’s table or in the pressbox, we have to remain neutral. I am usually pretty good at it but I do sometimes catch myself getting excited … sometimes, it’s hard not to.
A: It's hard not to. And sometimes at the beginning of season, I'll say, "All right, just stay calm on the sidelines. Just watch, just be an observer." *laughs* It never works. I'm always like high fiving everybody and screaming. And, if anybody put a camera on me for a game, they'd be like oh my God, because I'm really animated. I just can't help it. It's just like seeps up inside you and you have to let it out.
Q: What is it that you do? Obviously, we've got a general idea of what athletic trainers do, but can you tell me what your day-to-day looks like being a trainer?
A: Well, basically, athletic training is the care, the management, the treatment, and the rehabilitation of athletic injuries. You're the first one on the scene when somebody gets hurt. If somebody doesn't know what I do, I'll ask them, “do you watch football?” And most people do, so I'll say, “you know all those people that run out in the field when somebody gets hurt? That's me, that's what I do.” The Damar Hamlin situation really brought our profession to light but there still are a lot of people that don't understand what we do. Basically, we just take care of the athletes. We take care of their injuries. And not only are they [physically] injured, but now we're getting into more mental health issues. We're checking in on them, making sure that they're mentally healthy as well and providing a safe space for them. Mostly, it's taking care of their injuries and making sure that they are healthy when they play. I like to tell the kids, I'm not here to take you out of your sport, I'm here to keep you in your sport. I think it's terrifying, to a certain degree, for an athlete to come to an athletic trainer and say “I have this wrong with me but I don't want to be taken out,” but my job is to keep you in and keep you safe. As long as it's safe to be in, that's my job. I've had some tough kids in the past that have had situations [where they might be slightly injured]. And they're like, "I'm playing.” If you can play, you can play. You know? I'm not here to hold you back. Sometimes you have to reel the athletes in, too. Sometimes, they're a little too much and you're like all right, calm down. Sometimes, they’ll ask, “can I lift?” Well, can you raise your arm? Then, I don’t think you can lift. *laughs*
Q: So, can you … are you able to tell me any crazy stories from on the job?
A: Well, the first thing that pops into my head is I spent nine hours in a psych ward in South Carolina one time a few years ago with a mental health athlete, a patient that wass having a mental health issue. And I was happy to do it. It was fine. It was an interesting experience because I was locked in the psych ward. I couldn't get out. My phone was dying. It was a whole mess. … Buses have broken down after winning championships, and we've stood on the side of the road with a trophy. Yep, that's happened quite a few times. I had to push a bus once back in the day when we had buses that you shifted. We had to push the bus to get it moving so the driver could start it. One time the bus broke down, it was softball, and we were on the side of the road and another bus was coming to pick us up and we got on the bus – for some reason, we had to stand in the aisle … I'm standing there with a trophy and somebody in the front of the bus calls back and goes, "Mary Kate?!" I look around, I'm like, "Yeah?" It was a girl I went to high school with, I mean, it was totally random. I was like, "Oh my gosh, the weirdest things happen." *laughs* But yeah, those are some kind of the stories that pop in. I'm sure there's others that I can think of, and I'll probably think of them after the interview's over but those are the ones that jump out. Those are the memories that mean things, and this is what I tell the kids - it's not really what you do on the field - winning championships and having that cool catch and coming from behind, all that kind of stuff, that's super cool. But what you will remember when you leave is those bus rides where you're giggling uncontrollably and you're breaking down or you are in the hotel all studying together or having dinner together or hanging out in a hotel or watching a movie or swimming in the pool, if were in Florida. Those are the kind of things that you remember. And it's true; I've talked to kids and they're like, "Oh, I remember this time on the bus,” and those are the fun times. That's the stuff you remember. Being on the field is great and you're bonding and you're going to remember that stuff, but you really bond as a group when you travel together. That's where you learn to trust each other and to have each other's back and you become close.
Q: Would you say that you have had any crazy injury stories or are they pretty in the norm?
A: Knock on wood. *laughs* Pretty much in the norm. I had a few when I was in school when I was learning that I haven't really seen yet or seen before. I had somebody with compound fracture, I had never seen that before. I had a wrestler that broke his ankle, as well. It was kind of at an angle. They had to open up the double doors to get him out in the stretcher … another soccer player with a compound fracture. A lot of the stuff was before UAlbany. I've had a lot of lacerations … lacerations that looked like murder scenes. Yeah, I can think of a few … you always have to be prepared for something … dislocated fingers. Yeah, I think that's probably about what I've had. I think I've been lucky. Again, I don't want to jinx myself, but *laughs* yeah, I haven't had anything that's been too crazy.
Q: Right now, at UAlbany, has anyone been here longer than you?
A: I'm the OG. I'm the OG of the group. I think Joe [Tegnander] is next. Joe might have 19 or 20 years.
Q: You’ve been here awhile, at UAlbany. How does it feel to be that strong female voice or presence in something that, right now, is a male-dominated athletic training department?
A: Yeah, it's funny that it's male-dominated because technically, athletic training is female-dominated. It's like 51% or 52% are female, so it's interesting. And, we've got two more females coming in, so we're going to balance it out a little bit, but it's kind of cool. I look back and I think, ‘I was one of those young kids.’ I remember the first assignment my old boss gave me. I didn’t even know if I was doing it right. I was just highlighting things and moving them to a pile. I just kept grasping onto any kind of advice I could get, and he was a total mentor to me. The wisdom that he gave to me is something I've been passing down. It's kind of neat to be on the reverse side of that now where I can give advice [based on] my experience and help to kind of guide the younger crew and say hey this is how you have to think about this, and this is maybe how you should do this … it feels good. It feels good to kind of bring them along, especially the females, the young females. It's nice, I feel like they kind of look up to me and they come to me and I like that. I hope that I can provide for them a safe place where they can come and get advice and feel like they're not being judged and that they're being helped and that they're being heard. And, that's important to me because I had that and I want to be that for somebody coming up.
Q: You touched on this a little bit … what does it mean to you that there are women, especially in this department, but also just in general, that look up to you because of what you do or what you have done?
A: Yeah, I just I never really thought about it. I don't know … do they look up to me? *laughs* I hope that I'm a good example, and if they do look up to me, I think that's really cool. I'm happy to carry that and to be that for somebody. I hope I can represent well, and I hope that being a female in this position and being in the position that I am and how long I've been here and how successful I've been, I hope that people, or especially women, can look at me and say, "Hey, I can do that," and maybe follow in my footsteps. I'd love that. I like to be somebody that people can look up to and that I can help. I think that's kind of cool. I never thought of myself like that, but if people look up to me, that's great! I'm honored, I'm flattered by that. I'm honored to be somebody that people can look up to. That makes me feel good. I hope I do them proud. I just want to do them proud. I want to be that person that they look to. I'm okay with that.
Q: How did the women around you help you to become the person you are today?
A: I think my mom. I get teary-eyed. She always said growing up, just do the best you can, and nobody can ask anymore from you. And that, that was my high school yearbook quote and I've never forgotten that. "Do the best you can, and nobody can ask anymore from you." And I always have. I come from a family that works really hard. They're overachievers. Sometimes, I feel like I'm an underachiever because I've been at my job for so long and I feel like I'm not doing what they're doing. I'm not getting up early, I'm not doing this or whatever it is, but I'm doing my thing. And I think my sisters … my sister is … we’re complete opposites, but she is a worker. She's type A. She gets things done. So that's motivated me, that's pushed me. But I think it started with my mom really, just saying you can do what you want to do, you just work at it and do the best you can and I just always did that. I always do the best I can because I'm trying to keep up with my siblings. I'm the youngest of five … [I’ve] got to keep up with them. It kind of pushed me because I just came from a family of doers, so you got to keep up. And I was happy to do that. I was proud of the work that I've done and the schooling. Out of the five of us, there's only two of us that have master's degrees and I'm one of them. I'm very proud of that.
Q: And finally, what does a women’s history month mean to you?
A: Oh, wow. I think we should promote women. We have to. Honestly, I think the world would be a little better place if more women were in charge. I think we have to move in that direction. I think we need to promote that and promote the people, like you're doing now, promote the people that are out there doing it, grinding it out, and showing the world what we can do, continue to do what we're doing, and make it better. I think, we can make it better. And I think it's important that we highlight that. We're highlighting these people that are out there doing this stuff. I think that's really cool. We have to do more of it. It's going to make the world a better place.
For more content from the Women's History Month #GreatWomenGreatDanes series, click here.
