Major & Career Goals
Major: Exercise Science
Going into college, I knew my career goal was to become an athletic trainer, but I did not know which major to choose since most schools do not offer Athletic Training as a major anymore. When I visited IU Indianapolis, I talked to the advisor, who suggested I choose exercise science. From there, I researched and found that exercise science would be the perfect major for me as it combined my love of learning about the body, how it moves, and the effect that exercise and movement have on the body. Being involved in two sports in high school, golf, and cheer, I have visited my athletic trainer and a physical therapist multiple times. I really enjoyed both careers and had the opportunity to shadow both my high school athletic trainer and my physical therapist during my senior year of high school, which caused me to fall in love with careers that dealt with the muscles, bones, and ligaments of the body. As of now, my career goal is to become an athletic trainer, but this major allows me to have the flexibility to change my final career goal in the future. Overall, I know that the major in exercise science will prepare me with the information and knowledge that I will need to pursue a master's degree in athletic training. Since completing my freshman year, I have continued to grow in my major by completing volunteer opportunities within the sports world, including helping with the Big Ten Football Championship and going to events such as the unveiling of the 2026 Final Four Logo.
This is the physical therapy institution where I shadowed my physical therapist.
This is me while I was shadowing my high school athletic trainer.
2026 Final Four Logo Reveal
Strength & Conditioning Coach Certification
I do not intend to obtain minors but plan to become a certified strength and conditioning coach. Earning this certification will allow me to expand my knowledge about exercises and strengthening to help my athletes understand how to prevent injuries or return to their sport faster after an injury. My high school athletic trainer is a certified strength and conditioning coach. She showed me and taught me the benefits of understanding various exercises in and out of the weight room to help athletes. She was able to help me in the weight room when I was struggling with wrist pain during cheer and knew the correct form for each exercise to fully benefit me and strengthen the right muscles. After talking to my high school athletic trainer and professors at IU Indianapolis, I decided that certification in strength and conditioning would be the most beneficial and would allow me to be more involved in the weight room and the athletic training room.
During cheer, I used my wrists a lot to gain power during tumbling, so I needed to not be in pain to gain the most power possible.
Career Goal: Athletic Training
My main career goal is to become a collegiate athletic trainer. After learning more about the career and being able to shadow my athletic trainer, I fell in love with the job and knew that one day, I wanted to help athletes like my athletic trainer did for so many athletes, including me. I've always been interested in the healthcare field. During my senior year, I had the opportunity to take a class called Health Occupations, which allowed me to explore different healthcare careers. During this class, I was able to research more and had the opportunity to shadow my high school athletic trainer for five weeks. I saw various treatments, exercise programs, and injuries during this time. I was also allowed to practice some taping techniques and treatments and see the typical day of an athletic trainer. This experience, along with talking with other athletic trainers, made me realize that I wanted to be able to help athletes return to the sports they love as quickly as possible. Athletic training allows me to incorporate my love for sports and my desire to learn more about the body's muscles, ligaments, and bones and how the body moves into one career. Sports have significantly impacted many athletes' lives, including mine, and I want to be able to grow their love for their sport and allow them to play without pain, as many athletic trainers have done before. I have since been in contact with athletic training programs to learn more about them and have communicated with professors familiar with the career. I have also taken the opportunity to work in undergraduate research involving sports, including monitoring the FirstBeat Data collection of the women's soccer team and looking into how pitch count affects young baseball players.
