Ariel Allman received the Young Alumni Award at the UK College of Health Sciences Hall of Fame celebration on November 7. Allman, who earned her post-professional master’s degree in athletic training from the University of Kentucky in 2017, has gone on to become the first full-time athletic trainer (AT) at Midway University.

Allman’s passion for athletic training began in high school after she spent time observing her own athletic trainer. After shadowing her own AT, she decided to major in athletic training in college.

Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, Allman moved to Kentucky in 2015. She has two degrees: a bachelor’s in athletic training from the University of South Florida and a post-professional master’s in athletic training from the UK College of Health Sciences.

Since graduating from UK only two years ago, Allman has already been hired as the head AT at Midway University where she has helped grow their athletic training program immensely. “It is important to understand how athletes think and be on the same page as them when it comes to their goals,” Allman said. She has used this knowledge during her time at Midway to work towards whatever goals her athletes may have and approach their treatment plans with these goals in mind.

Allman acknowledges that being an athletic trainer is both rewarding and demanding. “Athletic training can be extremely stressful and hectic so you have to have a passion for it. Like with most professions, it’s important to love what you do,” she said.

One of the ways Allman combats the stressors of her job is by surrounding herself with young, energetic people whose energy rubs off on her. “Being around the athletes and young kids all the time keeps you young and keeps you going,” she said.

In addition to being an extremely successful AT, Allman has also earned her MBA from Midway. This experience sparked her interest in the administration side of athletic training. “I want to help develop athletic training and make it more of a priority in athletics because it tends to be overlooked,” she said.

In light of National Allied Health Professions Week, Allman spoke about how important the interdisciplinary aspect of health care is when it comes to athletic training, and how UK helped her discover this.

 “We have to lean on other professions for their specializations in order to give athletes the best care possible,” she said. “UK did a really good job in using allied health care to collaborate across the many different disciplines offered.”

Allman is extremely grateful to be receiving the Young Alumni Award and expressed her gratitude to the College of Health Sciences for giving her this award. “I feel like there’s a lot of alumni that graduate from here and do great things. I’m honored to be recognized among those people,” she said.