{Julie Gregory on the left, Mrs. Deeb in the middle, Julie Grisi to the right}
By: Shauna Connelly
As a high school athletic trainer, she knew that there would be unexpected emergencies. However, nobody expected a global pandemic. On Wednesday, I sat with Julie Grisi via zoom and discussed her perspective on being an athletic trainer at Salisbury.
Prior to deciding to be an athletic trainer, Julie wanted to be a chiropractor. She was influenced by a family-friend who treated her since she was only five years old, however, he thought that her talents could be used better elsewhere. Then, by her senior year of high school, Julie knew that she wanted to be an athletic trainer. She was a cheerleader for her high school football team but soon realized that she did not want to cheer anymore. Julie acknowledged that she still wanted to be on the field, so she became the football manager. As the hurt players came to her for support and advice, she was inspired to become an athletic trainer.
The first question of my interview was one I was very excited to ask, “How did you find Salisbury?” Julie responded that she was working for the Lehigh Valley Health Network at Emmaus High School and the former athletic trainer here at Salisbury was moving. “My boss at the time thought I would work well here. I got to tour the facility and meet some of the people here and thought it was a good fit.”
Furthermore, her answer led me to ask a question about her perspective of SHS, “What is it like working with the students and the other athletic trainers at Salisbury?” She answered that athletes “definitely keep me on my toes!” To elaborate, she explained that she never knows what each day holds. “This is one of the things that I like most about my job because I never know what each day will bring. Working with Zayne and the other Julie is awesome. I learn so much from them just by watching and listening to them. I hope that they learn something from me too. It is definitely helpful because we work as a team and support each other. I don’t know if I could do the job I do without them.”
To continue the interview, I asked Julie if she had any advice for students (or adults) who plan on entering the medical field. From her stance, Julie said her best advice would be to “find somebody in that field and shadow them. Learn from them the best you can and try to envision yourself in that role.”
My fourth question was to learn her viewpoint of coronavirus as an athletic trainer, “How did you feel about Covid directly affecting your job?” Julie revealed the stress of the coronavirus’s impact on her. “It has been very stressful. Not knowing anything about it (the virus) made me hesitant to come back to work.” She went on to explain the financial stress that athletic trainers faced also by not being paid by their usual employer. “We have to be adaptable to all of the changes that are being put in place to ensure everyone’s safety, including ours as athletic trainers, has been our highest priority.”
Following up on my fourth question, I wanted to ask this particular question next: “What is your most significant experience so far?” This was a difficult question to answer, but Julie replied, “When students come in hurt, and I get to see them go through the process of healing and getting back into their sport. I take pride in them doing well.”
The final question I asked Julie was to hear her view on her job is so far, “What are three lessons you learned?” Julie acknowledged that she is not finished learning yet, but went on to say that “patience, I think that is important because I don’t know what each kid is going through. Organization is key with paperwork and products because we have a lot of supplies. Teaching, I teach a lot. I teach students what is wrong with them and how to make themselves better. I didn’t realize how much teaching I would be doing.”
In conclusion, Julie Grisi did not always expect to be an athletic trainer but is very thankful she became one. Her perspective on athletic training during Athletic Trainers Month is, “You can never be too prepared because you never know when an emergency will come up.”
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