Boston University

10/01/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/01/2024 15:25

Coming Full Circle: Former BU Women’s Soccer Player Is Now Helping Injured Terrier Athletes

Coming Full Circle: Former BU Women's Soccer Player Is Now Helping Injured Terrier Athletes

Student Health Services athletic trainer Pietra Sweeney was inspired by the athletic trainers who helped her at BU

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Coming Full Circle: Former BU Women's Soccer Player Is Now Helping Injured Terrier Athletes

Student Health Services athletic trainer Pietra Sweeney was inspired by the athletic trainers who helped her at BU

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Coming Full Circle: Former BU Women's Soccer Player Is Now Helping Injured Terrier Athletes

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Coming Full Circle: Former BU Women's Soccer Player Is Now Helping Injured Terrier Athletes

October 1, 2024
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As a member of the BU women's soccer team, Pietra Sweeney spent a lot of time around BU's athletic trainers. She was team captain her senior year and after four years on the field, she'd seen a lot of her fellow athletes, and herself, helped by the individualized injury prevention and rehab plans the trainers put together for students. "I trusted them with my life," she says.

Now, Sweeney (Sargent '19,'21) is providing the care she once received. In August 2023, she returned to BU, joining Student Health Services athletic training staff. She's part of a team of 24 responsible for working with approximately 1,100 student athletes who play for BU's 24 varsity teams and 34 club sports programs. She and her colleagues also provide care for ROTC students.

Sweeney says she always knew she wanted to work in healthcare and help people. She earned an undergraduate degree in health sciences from Sargent, then a master's in athletic training.

Being a former student athlete is an advantage, she says, and makes her job easier. "I think literally having been in their same shoes just helps me to connect with my patients more and empathize with them more. In some situations it allows me to just better treat them."

Her job involves not only helping students recover from an injury, but helping them think about their long-term health and about avoiding future injuries.

Being back at BU now, she says, one of the best parts of her job is getting to work with people who helped her as a student athlete. "I had two different athletic trainers during my time who are still at BU, so now I get to work alongside them, which is really cool and rewarding."

Another aspect of the job that Sweeney loves is the opportunity to encounter new challenges and grow as a healthcare professional. "I think that's a cool thing about the job," she says. "There's always room to continue to learn and to continue to grow, to continue to develop your skills."

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