BY DEVON COLLINS AND LIAM ROWE
Students and faculty of Sheridan College’s Athletic Therapy Program gathered at the Mississauga Grand Banquet Hall on Friday, April 7th, to celebrate their academic accomplishments and 50 years of the Athletic Therapy program at Sheridan College.
Anne Hartley, a respected pioneer in the industry, participated in the festivities and was also there to present her award of excellence to two students.
“I feel honoured to be able to present this scholarship to Athletic Therapy students. I feel it helps further educate and pay for their schooling and it’s a real honour to be invited here every year,” said Hartley.
Erika Busk, one of the recipients of the Anne Hartley Scholarship said, “this has been the pinnacle achievement that you think about from first year coming in, and to me, it is the highest honour.”
This has been the pinnacle achievement that you think about from first year coming in, and to me it is the highest honor.
Meagan Tucker expressed how much this scholarship means to her, “When you look at everything that Anne’s accomplished over the years, this award engulfs everything that you think of when you think of athletic therapy. To get this scholarship really proves that hard work pays off.”
The dedication of the faculty and students have afforded theAthletic Therapy program a long history at Sheridan College.
“I would say we’re amongst the top schools in Canada, if not the top school in Canada,” said newly appointed Associate Dean, Sanja Beca. “It’s hard work and dedication of our faculty and then support from the administration that the program gets, to actually make sure it continues to be the most successful program.
Along with the awards, a number of prestigious internships were also presented to students. Students could obtain internships with the National Ballet of Canada, Canada Basketball, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
To be considered for these internships students had to go through an application process which involved the submission of a resume and cover letter. These were then reviewed by the medical staff within each respected organization.
Roman Kaszczij, the winner of the Toronto Blue Jays internship, was very humbled to be given this opportunity. “I am really honoured to be able to represent my peers,” said Kaszczij. “The fact that the organization themselves are willing to take on a Sheridan student I think is a testament to our program, but also a testament to them as an organization.”
Professors note that no student went unrecognized, even if they did not receive an award.
“These guys have worked tremendous hours. Through crappy weather and on no sleep, for them to understand that we support them, it’s huge for us to do that,” said Surinder Budwal, a professor in the Athletic Therapy program. “It’s been a pretty amazing privilege to have been with these guys and I’m pretty excited to watch them graduate.”
To end the night, students gathered on the dance floor to commence the year. Some students will return in the fall, while others will begin their journeys as athletic therapist.
2017 Athletic Therapy Award winners:
Dunbar Medical Award: Dana Renfew
KineMedics Award: Gabrielle Boulding
OATA Student Scholarship: Nikita Rees
OATA Student Scholarship: Natalie Figueria
The Canadian National Basketball Scholarship: Shueb Ahmed
Toronto Blue Jays Sports Medicine Scholarship: Roman Kaszczij
Dr. Ron Taylor Award: Shannon Walsh Moreau
First Responder Award: Rachel Rennick
Dr. Michael Reierson: Shueb Ahmed
Evert Van Beek Memorial Scholarship: Victor Lanzillotta
National Ballet of Canada Scholarship: Amanda Grunskovnjak
CATA Student Leadership Award: Sarah Campeli
Dr. Tom Fried Award: Adrian Huynh
Michelle Kukta Memorial Scholarship: Chelsey Scowen
Loi Quach Memorial Scholarship: Kiran Persad
Robert Firth Memorial Scholarship: Kevin Bryant
Dr. Bob Jackson Memorial Award: Stacey Connell
The Anne Hartley Award of Excellence in Athletic Therapy: Meagan Tucker and Erika Busk.
