Cal Baptist ATSO and NATM
In honor of National Athletic Training Month, California Baptist University’s Athletic Training Student Organization (ATSO) set out to their clinical rotation sites and the community to bring awareness to the program and profession. The club has been running a canned food drive to benefit a food bank in the Riverside community that distributes the cans to local shelters. Boxes were decorated and placed at all of CBU’s clinical sites to help encourage students, staff and athletes to contribute and get involved this month. Saint Patrick’s day proved to be one of the busier days of the month with THREE different events taking place.
First up, ATSO’s President, Sarah Beene, Professional Promotions Committee chair, Zach Norton-Martinez and the CBU ATP Director, Dr. Nicole MacDonald, all participated in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Career Day at Mountain View Elementary School in Riverside. They had a blast teaching kindergarteners through sixth graders what an AT is and some of the different tools and skills they utilize. Students even got to practice first aid skills with gloves and shaving cream, take a BESS test and sense what a tuning fork feels like.
Earlier in the month, Zach had also convinced Riverside’s Mayor to make a formal declaration recognizing March as NATM. Zach was asked to make a speech in front of the entire city council, community members and some of our ATSO club that green Saint Patrick’s Day and did a phenomenal job. He was able to shed some light on what ATs do, what CBU is doing to contribute to the profession and how we can positively impact the community as a whole. Last, but certainly not least, some of the ATSO crew was lucky enough to be available to attend the FWATA PR Committee’s Fundraiser at Slater’s 50/50 that night. They enjoyed their Spring Break night eating and networking with the other ATs attending. The month may be almost over, but the involvement has only sparked the fire for ATSO members who look to continue to spread awareness through the end of the school year and beyond.
Courtesy of Cal Baptist University Athletic Training Student Organization
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