Round-offs, back handsprings and cartwheels — Katelyn Robinson grew up on gymnastics. With every twist and turn, she witnessed others’ injuries and made it her mission to study athletic training.
Robinson is a National Athletic Trainer’s Association Research and Education Foundation scholarship awardee. The number of scholarships NATA awards varies annually from 50 to 75 recipients with the amount of the award currently at $2,300 per scholarship.
Her love for athletic training started as early as the eighth-grade when she attended an athletic training day. While attending Oklahoma State University for her undergraduate degree, she interned with the football and wrestling teams.
The “golden” experience
Robinson is a Tulsa native who chose The University of Tulsa to pursue her education in athletic training.
“I have always dreamed about going to TU for athletic training,” said Robinson.
“Seeing how passionate TU is about giving their students opportunities and teaching is really incredible to me,” explains Robinson.
The athletic training program at TU is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. The program was the first accredited athletic training program in Oklahoma and involves an extensive core of academic study combined with in-depth clinical rotations.
“We are very proud of Katelyn for earning recognition through the NATA Foundation scholarship,” said Ron Walker associate dean of the Oxley College of Health Sciences.
Walker explained: “She is certainly a very deserving recipient who represents our athletic training program and TU very well because of her experiences and enthusiasm for the athletic training profession.”
Sideline support
For some, sprains, cuts and gruesome injuries make heads turn right away, but Robinson doesn’t bat an eye “You have to be that person that they look to in the situation that to them is the end of the world,” she said.
Robinson volunteered with the Student Leadership Council at TU to help coordinate the Big XII wrestling tournament in Tulsa.
In the master’s program, Oxley College of Health Sciences students are required to assist professional athletic trainers during sport seasons. Robinson has assisted Tulsa-area high schools and the TU Men’s soccer team. This fall, she will be on the sideline assisting the Golden Hurricane football team.
“I have loved that relationship with the athletes from the moment they stepped foot on campus through any injuries and battles that they had and watching them play the sport they love,” said Robinson.
The NATA Foundation’s work benefits every athletic trainer and every group associated with the profession, as well as the physically active community at large.
The scholarship was presented during the NATA Clinical Symposia in Las Vegas on June 25.
The requirements for the NATA Research and Education Foundation scholarship are:
- Be enrolled in a CAATE accredited entry-level master’s program that concludes with a master’s degree;
- Have a cumulative overall grade-point average of at least 3.2 (based on a 4.0 maximum) for the last 40 credits of his/her undergraduate courses and ALL of his/her entry-level master’s courses including the fall of 2019;
- Have one academic year in master’s program remaining OR is graduating in spring 2020 and intends to pursue an advanced degree in domains of athletic training.