April 17, 2013

New Column Reflects on a Fun and Busy Month in the SLU AT Program


It is said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  For me, March was more like a tornado, and I loved every minute of it!  Life was very busy from the beginning of March right through the beginning of April.  It was all good stuff, though. 

For example, one of the things that kept me busy during March, which was National Athletic Training Month, was preparing for the Doisy College of Health Sciences Student Crisis Fund Auction.  This is an annual event which the staff of the college holds as a fundraiser.  As the current chair of the DCHS staff committee, I am both sad to say that I’ve seen students need to utilize the Student Crisis Fund and pleased to say that I’ve seen the financial assistance from the fund grant students a little bit of independence at a time when they really needed it.  There was a lot to do to prepare for the auction.  This was working out well, until I got sick on the day of the auction and ended up missing it!  What a bummer!  I didn’t even get to bid on anything.  :-(  That’s okay, though.  The auction net over $2,000 for the fund, and that’s what is important.  What a blessing!  It’s all about having assistance readily available when students may need it.

Another thing I got to do last month is a true passion of mine.  I was a judge for the Gateway Classic Speech and Debate Tournament.  This is a tournament for home-schooled students grades 6 through 12.  I homeschooled my own, two college-aged children.  While they did not participate in this event, I know many other families who have done so or still do.  It is fun to be a part of watching and judging these budding young orators.

The last big thing that I did in March is the SLATS Bowl-A-Thon campaign.  I worked behind-the-scenes.  I made the copies, I created the payment portion of the donor letter, I verified the addresses that were submitted, and so forth…  I am blown away by the responses we got.  It was so much fun to check the mail and email each day to see how many responses we had.  Sometimes, it was difficult working on a task because so many phone pledges were coming in.  What a great problem to have!  Now that the Bowl-A-Thon is all said and done, I think we ended up with some incredible final numbers.  My hat is off to everyone involved with this event—from those who came up with the idea to those who helped to pull it off and everyone in-between.

Now, in just a few short weeks, I’ll be standing in Chaifetz Arena with my “Graduation Bag” in hand.  What is a “Graduation Bag”?  It is a small bag that includes the following:  bobby pins, safety pins, clear fingernail polish (to fix runs in stockings), and breath mints.  In years past, one or more of these items have been known to calm the most nervous of graduates.  Whatever I can do to help…

"News From the Front Desk" by Jennifer Baine is a regular column that features a look inside the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program.  Jennifer greets all of the program's visitors and works with the faculty to make sure our students have the best possible experience.

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