Q1: What’s it like being in ROP Sports Medicine?
A1: It’s amazing; it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for the longest time. Everyone’s like, You’re there all the time, but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. There’s test taking, and at the end, there’s this big sports medicine competition. [Mr. Zessau] has us in ranks according to how many hours we have, and throughout the year he’s changing them. I never got to be first because I turned in my paper late. He was like, ‘If you turned them in on time you would have been first.’
Q2: How did you become interested in this particular field?
A2: In the seventh grade, my dad was having his third knee surgery from a soccer injury, and I talked to the surgeon who talked to me about different medical fields. He specialized in sports medicine which interested me.
Q3:What kind of work did you have to do to get your head position?
A3:I actually lived in northern California and came to Downey my sophomore year, and I enrolled into the ROP Sports Medicine. It’s one of those things where you have to volunteer for hours; you have to show yourself. You have to make them know you want to be there. That’s how I became kind of the head of the class. The main thing was the hours I put in. I completed the whole year’s requirement just by the football season. I had to do 30 for the year, which I made before the end of the season. As of right now, since Hell Week, I have 200 hours, which puts me at the top rank.
Q4: As far as college goes, is there anywhere in particular that you’re thinking about attending?
A5: I’d like to go to the University of Miami because they have a really good program where I can become a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC). There are different places where you can work, from high school to professional, which would be pretty crazy to do.
Q5: In your opinion, what do you enjoy most about your work?
A5: Seeing when the guys recover and when they show a little appreciation. Ok, it sounds cliché, but I saw it on a commercial once: if you love what you’re doing, you’re never working. It even goes for when there are long days when nothing happens, because it’s a horrible job when you have to wait for something horrible to happen.
