Submit of a statement of your career goals explaining your interest in the following area of specialization: Athletic Training
I was sixteen years old and it was near the end of wrestling practice. I was fatigued, dehydrated and ready to hit the showers when my head coach brought us together as a team. I was expecting a stern lecture or the torture of more wind sprints but instead he paused and took in the moment before he delivered one of the most inspiring lines of my life. With a gleam of admiration in his eye he told us, "Men...Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life." Those words didn't mean anything to me until I became an athletic training student. That is when I realized that I had found something that I was truly passionate about.
I have taken this passion for athletic training and established a vision of where I want to be and what I want to do within the profession. I have three major objectives that I want to pursue as an athletic trainer. First, I want to take my clinical skills and advance them beyond that of an entry-level athletic trainer. Secondly, I want to advance my ability as to critique and develop research as a clinician. Finally, I want to work at advancing the profession of athletic training and hope that I can give back even a fraction of what this profession has given me.
During my undergraduate education we were introduced to the basic concepts of a lot of topics. We were instructed just enough to become proficient and competent in many areas. One of these areas was manual therapy and I found it to be one of the more fascinating subjects. Underclassmen would ask me what my favorite modality in the athletic training room was to use and I would tell them that it was my hands. One of my goals is to take this fascination beyond the level of basic and become an advanced manual therapist. I feel that the NATA Accredited Graduate Athletic Training Program at Illinois State University's emphasis on manual therapy instruction would be a harmonizing match with my interest.
While I may not want to become a fulltime researcher in the field of athletic training, I still want to further myself as a scholarly clinician. I believe that the graduate athletic training program at ISU focus on critical inquiry and reasoning will provide me with the ability to advance my independent thinking. As a health care provider it is imperative that I have the ability to interpret, critique, and effectively implement research into my practice.
Athletic Training as a profession is still in its infancy compared with many other professions. It is rapidly growing and evolving even to this day. While the profession may have found its niche within the health care system there is still a lot of work to be done. I aspire to be an active participant within the profession at the local, district, and national level. I will advocate for athletic training within and outside of the profession. I also have a desire to better the profession by working with and educating students that wish to become athletic trainers.
I believe that the NATA Accredited Graduate Athletic Training Program at Illinois State University will provide me with the advanced knowledge, experience and tools necessary to advance myself to the next level and help me achieve my goals as an athletic trainer. I feel that a master's degree in athletic training from your institution combined with my personal dedication, desire and discipline will help me become the best athletic trainer that I can be. I know that athletic training is the lifestyle and career that I love and want to pursue.
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I appreciate any and all critiques...I am having a rough time writing this essay and I think its because it can mean so much that is causing such writers block.
I was sixteen years old and it was near the end of wrestling practice. I was fatigued, dehydrated and ready to hit the showers when my head coach brought us together as a team. I was expecting a stern lecture or the torture of more wind sprints but instead he paused and took in the moment before he delivered one of the most inspiring lines of my life. With a gleam of admiration in his eye he told us, "Men...Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life." Those words didn't mean anything to me until I became an athletic training student. That is when I realized that I had found something that I was truly passionate about.
I have taken this passion for athletic training and established a vision of where I want to be and what I want to do within the profession. I have three major objectives that I want to pursue as an athletic trainer. First, I want to take my clinical skills and advance them beyond that of an entry-level athletic trainer. Secondly, I want to advance my ability as to critique and develop research as a clinician. Finally, I want to work at advancing the profession of athletic training and hope that I can give back even a fraction of what this profession has given me.
During my undergraduate education we were introduced to the basic concepts of a lot of topics. We were instructed just enough to become proficient and competent in many areas. One of these areas was manual therapy and I found it to be one of the more fascinating subjects. Underclassmen would ask me what my favorite modality in the athletic training room was to use and I would tell them that it was my hands. One of my goals is to take this fascination beyond the level of basic and become an advanced manual therapist. I feel that the NATA Accredited Graduate Athletic Training Program at Illinois State University's emphasis on manual therapy instruction would be a harmonizing match with my interest.
While I may not want to become a fulltime researcher in the field of athletic training, I still want to further myself as a scholarly clinician. I believe that the graduate athletic training program at ISU focus on critical inquiry and reasoning will provide me with the ability to advance my independent thinking. As a health care provider it is imperative that I have the ability to interpret, critique, and effectively implement research into my practice.
Athletic Training as a profession is still in its infancy compared with many other professions. It is rapidly growing and evolving even to this day. While the profession may have found its niche within the health care system there is still a lot of work to be done. I aspire to be an active participant within the profession at the local, district, and national level. I will advocate for athletic training within and outside of the profession. I also have a desire to better the profession by working with and educating students that wish to become athletic trainers.
I believe that the NATA Accredited Graduate Athletic Training Program at Illinois State University will provide me with the advanced knowledge, experience and tools necessary to advance myself to the next level and help me achieve my goals as an athletic trainer. I feel that a master's degree in athletic training from your institution combined with my personal dedication, desire and discipline will help me become the best athletic trainer that I can be. I know that athletic training is the lifestyle and career that I love and want to pursue.
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I appreciate any and all critiques...I am having a rough time writing this essay and I think its because it can mean so much that is causing such writers block.
