The director of the Athletic Training Education program works double time as the director of sports medicine for ESPN, a job she uses to bring exposure to UNM and provide many of her students with hands-on education.
Susan McGowen, who has worked for the Entertainment Sports Programming Network for nine years, has headed medical teams providing assistance for sporting events across the world, including the Winter, Summer and International X-Games and the Global-X Championship.
"This experience has presented me with great experience professionally," said McGowen, who also serves as medical and risk management director for all of ESPN's events.
"It's a great opportunity to learn hands-on in an environment where injury is commonplace, where your skills as a trainer are pushed to the limit everyday."
McGowen has most recently spent five days directing a national 20-member medical team who patched up the 280 athletes from around the world participating in the 2003 Winter X-Games in Aspen, Colo.
She said she uses her position at ESPN as a motivational tool for her students, the very best of which are allowed to accompany her to the ESPN sporting events.
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"Of the 20 certified athletic trainers in Aspen, six of them were students, four of which were from UNM," McGowen said. "I reward the student leaders of this program by taking them with me and putting them in real world situations, giving them an education not available in the classroom."
Adrienne Kelley, a senior athletic training major who accompanied McGowen to this year's Winter X-Games, said the students were very lucky to be a part of such a great event that is very different from a school setting.
"We were thrown into a real life situation and forced to face many obstacles in keeping everyone safe," Kelley said. "I think our skill level has increased dramatically as a result of the experience."
McGowen, who is in her first year as director of the Athletic Training Education Program at UNM, said that it is one of only five nationally accredited programs in the Southwest. She added that her students have a chance to learn in an academic setting while at the same time providing a vital role to the University's sports teams.
Our students are required to have a certain amount of clinical experience, working with intercollegiate athletics, club sports and the rodeo to provide medical service for the athletes, McGowen said.
"It's a win, win situation," McGowen said.
She added that she uses her dual role as a recruiting tool for students from across the country for UNM's growing athletic training department.
McGowen said that she stresses to her students that in order to be successful in this field, they need to not only focus on academics but begin developing their portfolios.
"We take every measure to ensure that our students get all the training they need to provide the best service possible," she said.
Felipe Mares, a senior athletic training major who accompanied McGowen, said the experience provided them with a different learning capacity.
"The chance to view other training techniques and work with Olympic and international athletes is amazing," Mares said. "We learned to overcome language barriers and collaborated with people we never met before."
McGowen earned her bachelor's degree in physical education from Indiana University in 1983 and her master's degree in Education from Syracuse University in 1988. She went on to earn her doctorate in sports administration from UNM last year.
