Athletic Training - University at Buffalo

Introducing our MSAT Class of 2028! 🦬👏📚🩺

This morning at the SPHHP Annual School Meeting, several ENS faculty and staff members were recognized for their commitment to serving our students and community, including two of our AT faculty who won awards from the Dean’s office:

Dr. Lesley Vandermark – Teacher of the Year
“This award is presented to a faculty member whose recent teaching performance, initiatives, publications, and/or presentations demonstrate outstanding contributions to education.”

Dr. Ryan Krzyzanowicz – Dean’s Award for Community Service
“This award is presented to a faculty or staff member in recognition of achievements in providing professional relevant community service in furtherance of the School’s mission to improve the health of populations, communities, or individuals over the past year.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Vandermark and Dr. K on these well-deserved awards!

This month we received so many incredible preceptor nominations that we decided to recognize both a Local Preceptor of the Month and an Immersion Preceptor of the Month!

Immersion Preceptor of the Month: Michele Latimer MA, ATC, LAT, CES, CIDN
As an immersion preceptor for the past two years, Michele has played a tremendous role in preparing students for transition to practice. She creates meaningful hands-on learning experiences while promoting independence, communication, confidence, and professional growth.

Michele consistently turns everyday challenges into valuable teaching moments and provides thoughtful feedback that helps students continue to grow as clinicians. Most importantly, Michele’s dedication and genuine care for her athletes, staff, and students are evident in everything she does. The lasting relationships she builds with students speak volumes about the impact she has as both a mentor and educator.

Local Preceptor of the Month: Samara Johnson, DAT, ATC
Samara has created an incredibly welcoming and supportive learning environment for our students here in Buffalo. From day one, she immerses students into hands-on experiences and consistently challenges them to step outside of their comfort zones while building confidence, clinical reasoning, and practical skills. Students describe her as approachable, encouraging, and deeply invested in both their clinical and personal growth.

Through her mentorship, real-world teaching, and supportive nature, Samara has made a lasting impact on the future athletic trainers she works with.

Thank you both for the incredible impact you continue to have on our students and program!

Student of the month: Haleigh Smith-2nd Year MSAT student

Haleigh has demonstrated tremendous growth throughout her time in our program and has truly developed into an exceptional young clinician. A quiet leader within the cohort, she consistently embraces challenges and pushes herself to grow both personally and professionally. She is a great representation of what it means to embody the mission and vision of the UB MSAT program through her professionalism, resilience, compassion, and commitment to learning.

This semester, Haleigh excelled in a professional rugby environment, confidently stepping into evaluations, and treatments while earning the trust and respect of both athletes and staff. Her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and fully immerse herself in the experience has made a lasting impression. One nominator even shared that they would hire her immediately for a full-time position if given the opportunity — a true testament to the clinician she is developing into.

We are incredibly proud of Haleigh and all she has accomplished.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!

We are thrilled to report that all 17 of our second-year students have successfully passed their portfolio defenses and the BOC!

These accomplishments reflect not only their commitment to excellence, but their hard work over the past two years to become successful clinicians in the field of athletic training.

To the class of 2026, we are so excited to see where your journeys take you next and know you will make a lasting impact on every team, patient, and community you serve. The future of athletic training is bright!

Rounding out the class of 2026 with Darci, Haleigh, Connor, Brianna, Kathryn, and Jodie! 🎓

Congratulations to all 17 of our graduates. We are so proud of you and can't wait to celebrate your accomplishments at commencement. 🦬💙

The celebration continues for the MSAT Class of 2026! 🎓✨Today, we’re proud to spotlight more of our graduates and recognize the dedication, resilience, and passion that brought them to this milestone.

Congratulations to Lillee, Corinne, Mike, Emma and Truc!

It is time to celebrate the MSAT Class of 2026! 🎓✨ Huge congratulations to this incredible group on all your hard work, growth, and dedication!

Today, we're highlighting Bri, Paul, Molly, Darion, Kevin, and Natalie.

We’ll be sharing more of our 17 graduates throughout the week, so stay tuned for more memories and graduation photos as we celebrate this milestone together 🦬🎉💙

A big thanks to Natalie Robertello MS, RD, CSSD, CDN from Be Fueled Sports Nutrition for joining us on campus last week! She shared her expertise on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) with our Clinical Nutrition MS and Athletic Training MS students.

We are grateful for such an engaging and insightful workshop! Thank you to Natalie and all of our students for making it such a meaningful session!

Our program wouldn’t be what it is today without the continued support of our amazing administrative support staff! Special shout out to Kristen and Mary what you do to support our AT program students and faculty is exceptional! Happy administrative professionals day to all those working behind the scenes to keep all the programs running smoothly!