Lock Haven athletic training graduate student completes externship with Appalachian State University
Lock Haven, PA (07/07/2023) — By Conner Timbrell- Class of 2023
*This is part of a series of stories written by Commonwealth University-Lock Haven graduate students about their athletic training full-immersion externships this spring.
Conner Timbrell spent his final semester of the athletic training program at Commonwealth University-Lock Haven completing a full-immersion externship at the Appalachian State University (ASU) in Boone, North Carolina. There, he spent the majority of his time covering football and occasionally men's and women's golf.
Timbrell, of Bloomsburg, enjoys watching sports, particularly football, and has a love for science. He knew very early on that athletic training (AT) was the profession him. While in high school he played football and got to know his own athletic trainer very well through his own various minor injuries and was told that if he wanted to become an AT, Lock Haven was the best option with the best program in the state.
After multiple visits to Lock Haven as a high school senior, Timbrell knew he would spend the following five years there earning both a bachelor's degree in health science and a master's degree in athletic training.
During his time at ASU, his duties included evaluating and diagnosing injuries, creating and executing athletes' rehabilitation program, providing immediate emergency care if needed and communicating and working with other health care professionals to provide the best possible care for their student-athletes. Through his work there, he was able to keep the athletes healthy and on the field.
"With this immersion experience I gained new insights into rehabilitation devices such as a microgravity treadmill to de-load athletes, histological variable manual technique (HIVAMAT) machine for swelling and pain and dry needling," Timbrell said. "Learning these new devices, while also combining the knowledge I gained from my preceptors, helped prepare me to enter the workforce as an athletic trainer."
Timbrell has also recently passed his Board of Certification (BOC) exam and is one step closer to becoming a certified athletic trainer.
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