So, tell us what you have been up to, Laura?

For a month and a half, I have been traveling with the Oregon Crusaders on the medical staff. We are a drum and bugle corps with Drum Corps International (DCI) and we perform in cities across the states. The Oregon Crusaders are based in Portland, but the 150 members, ages 15-21, are from all over the world. Having the knowledge and skills from my program at E&H has helped me excel in this internship.  I am using this as real-life experience and I am studying under 2 awesome Certified Athletic Trainers here and learning new things all the time.

I’m grateful for the help I received from Emory & Henry to get here! One of my professors, Beth Funkhouser, saw they were offering summer internships with DCI and knew I had a desire to work with marching bands and performing artists, so she encouraged me to apply.  I also received wonderful help from Career Services Director, Amanda Gardner in the Ampersand Center with my resume and cover letter, without that help I truly believe I wouldn’t have this internship. 

What’s the experience been like? 

A typical day for me in the morning is to help with treatments and getting the members prepared for their 13 hour day of rehearsal. I’ll do anything from stretching and massaging to taping and wrapping injuries. Because I’m the intern, I also take members to office visits, urgent care centers, or take them to fill their prescriptions.

This experience has been very strenuous but very rewarding. It’s been great to have real-life experiences with things I have studied in the classroom and be able to apply what I know. I have also made great connections with people in this field, so hopefully, once I am certified I will be able to work with DCI again as a medical professional.

Some of my favorite things about this internship have been getting to see so many different places in the USA. I have never been past the east coast so it was very cool to see the different landscapes of the West coast and the Midwest. We have also performed in some very cool stadiums such as the Dever Broncos stadium, the Alamodome in San Antonio, the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, and finals will be at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Finally, it’s been such a great time working with the members. They are truly some incredible athletes that do not get the recognition they deserve. Each rehearsal day they march and run about 13 miles (half a marathon) and can burn 6,000 calories a day. Performance athletes are something no traditional sport can compare to.