The Collegiate Game Changer Women Defining Marauder Spo GAME CHANGERS
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in 2003. She then pursued a Master of Science in Exercise Science and Sport Psychology from Ithaca College in 2005 and earned a post-graduate certificate in Sports Counseling from the California University of Pennsylvania in 2018. She completed a Doctorate in Health Science/Healthcare Administration from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2021. Szymula’s professional journey spans multiple levels of athletics, including prep school, Ivy League and NCAA Division I and II programs. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everything changed. “I was working at the University of New Haven at the time,” she said. “I was away from home and I had time to think about what’s really important in life. I wanted to be close to my family so I decided to look for an opportunity closer to home.” So she put out some feelers in Western New York and learned that Excelsior Orthopaedics had openings for athletic trainers. She was quickly hired. Her first placement option was St. Joe’s – a place Szymula knew well because she had several friends that went there during her time at the Mount. She walked into the school gymnasium one morning in 2021 and met Vice President of Athletics Brian Anken, who started to make his pitch for the school. “I said ‘Brian, I’m going to stop you right there. The last time I was in this gymnasium was 1999 and it was a senior prom.” And the rest is history. I think I just automatically fit in here with the personalities of the people that I work with,” Szymula said. She’s been a natural fit ever since. Each day is something new and presents its own challenges, including meeting athletes and helping them work through difficult injuries. But it’s incredibly rewarding as they come to know she’s someone they can depend on and it’s one of the ways that the St. Joe’s community is a family. “ I honestly feel like I’ve come full circle in my career – like I’m giving back to a community that helped raise me.
COMING FULL CIRCLE
BY ERIC KEPPELER ‘85 St. Joe’s athletic trainer Vicky Szymula knew from an early age that she wanted to help people. Her father was an EMT and surgeon and her mother was a speech pathologist, so it made all the sense in the world that Vicky would choose a profession where she could provide physical assistance to those who needed it. Growing up in Lockport and studying at DeSales Catholic, she didn’t have a clear path until she went to high school at Mount St. Mary Academy. “I’ve always been passionate about athletics,” Szymula said. “But when I was in high school, we didn’t have an athletic trainer. I played four sports in high school, so I was always banged up. I was originally planning on going for physical therapy, but I met an athletic trainer during my physical therapy hours. We talked a lot about it and then I decided, hey, I think this is a great path for me.” Szymula looked at several colleges with physical therapy and athletic training programs before deciding on SUNY Cortland, which was highly regarded in those disciplines. Szymula earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training and a Certification in Strength and Conditioning from Cortland
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