Jen Owens is a bubbly sophomore athletic training major who’s quick to laugh and nearly always smiling. Jen took some time out of her busy schedule to sit down and talk to Her Campus.
Name: Jen Owens
Year: Sophomore
Major: Athletic Training
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut
Her Campus (HC): How did you choose Marywood?
Jen Owens (JO): Funny story! My mom actually went to Marywood and I was originally looking at Bloomsburg [University of Pennsylvania]. On the way home we had to pass Marywood and my mom insisted we stop by. I was so opposed because I thought it was an all-girls schools with nuns as teachers and that’s not what I’m about. We ended up stopping by, and I fell in love with the campus and how beautiful it was and the dorms. I discovered that there were professors and it was co-ed. I applied, was accepted and came in the fall.
HC: What are some activities you are involved in at Marywood?
JO: Recently, I just went to recruitment for Zeta Phi Delta [a service sorority at Marywood] and that’s something I’m really looking forward to in the Spring semester. I decided I wanted to rush for the sorority because I want to meet new people around campus and I want to feel involved in the community. I’m really into supporting breast cancer [Zeta Phi Delta’s philanthropy] because it’s a giant part of my life. There have been so many of my relatives who have been affected by this awful disease.I’m part of the athletic training club on campus. The club consists of students in the program at Marywood. It gives us a chance to come up with ideas to make the program better. We raise money to go to conferences to network to find opportunities for jobs in the future. Currently, I’m fundraising to go to the EATA [Eastern Athletic Trainers Association] conference in Boston in January.
HC: Tell me about athletic training. What does the major entail and what happens post-graduation?
JO: Athletic training involves working with high school athletes all the way up to people in the professional level. I look to prevent and treat injuries within sports. Currently, I’m doing my clinical rotation at Summit University, formerly known as Baptist Bible College. Clinical is the time that I spend in the field at my clinical site with actual athletes. It’s where I can experience and work hands on with injuries and rehabilitation along with different kinds of rehab equipment. I enjoy my clinical rotation there because I feel like it is extremely rewarding seeing so many people active and being able to participate in the sports they love due to the treatment and rehab work that I have done after the injury. After I graduate college, I will take the Board of Certification exam and become a certified athletic trainer and then I will be able to practice. After, I plan to go to grad school. What I plan to study I have not yet decided.
HC: What do you do in your free time?
JO: What is free time? [Laughs.] In my free time that I sometimes very rarely do have I enjoy watching movies… uhm… trying to think of what my favorite movies is. I Netflix and Chill, usually by myself, but I also enjoy movies and popcorn with a large group of friends. If I’m not Netflix and Chilling, I enjoy the outdoors. During the summer I spend a lot of time outside camping. This past summer, I went white water rafting in upstate Maine. That was an experience I will never forget.
HC: Why was Maine so profound to you?
JO: It was the first family vacation I had in a while where everyone in my immediate family was able to spend time together. It was a week of no electronics and family bonding around the campfire. I went white water rafting and on a float plane ride over Moose Head Lake- I was about 10 feet away from a moose! I have a picture too! This was the first time I have ever seen a moose and it was honestly the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. I also enjoy hunting and fishing which was a big part of my life growing up. It’s bonding time with my dad, who is a very important figure in my life.
HC: What is your relationship status?
JO: [Pauses.] Currently, I am single. I don’t know what else to say. [Laughs.]
HC: Ready to mingle?
JO: Possibly ready to mingle [Laughs.] I’m not opposed to the idea of dating. [She said between laughter.]
HC: Describe what your ideal guy would be like.
JO: Oh wow… he’d be a real trooper! I mean, I need a guy who could put up with my hectic lifestyle. I’m always on the go and would need someone who could tell me to slow down and take a breath and can also… [Pauses.] can make me not be so serious and show me life is more enjoyable when you let yourself go a little bit. I’m a very type A personality and would benefit from someone who is a type B because we would be able to balance each other out. I also want someone who is attractive, preferably, is into sports, and has motivation to do well. And he should be smart; that’s always a perk.
HC: Ideal date?
JO: Hmmm…. oh! My ideal date would be a day at the beach swimming and finding seashells and ten having a picnic and going on a sailboat ride! I feel like I’m being super sappy! I just love the ocean, it’s so relaxing.
HC: What was the best day of your life?
JO: Hmm… [Ponders.] The best day of my life was graduating from high school and transitioning into the Marywood athletic training program. High school was some of the hardest four years of my life. Those chapters of my life had finally come to an end and I had successfully graduated. I realized so many opportunities that had been presented to me. I was no longer a child but an adult who could determine her choices in life and make a career for herself.
HC: When was the moment you most believed in yourself?
JO: The moment I most believed in myself… was the summer going into my senior year. I was playing softball at Myrtle Beach in North Carolina and we were in the WFC [World Fast-pitch Connection] Nationals. It was the final game and we were tied in the bottom of the seventh. I was up to bat with a one and one count. There was girl on second and third, and it was up to me to bring someone home. I was crowding the plate to eliminate the inside pitch. Next thing I knew, there was a 58 mph fastball coming at me. I turned in, and held my breath as the ball drilled me in the back of my leg. I limped my way to first base and looked at my coach and said, “It tickled,” as a tear rolled down my cheek, and he said, “Walk it off slugger.” We ended up winning Nationals by one run and during that game I had made five outs in the outfield. I was so proud of my performance and being able to take one for the team when they needed me most. I went home with one giant bruise, a national champion ring on my finger and a memory I’ll never forget.
HC: What is your greatest fear?
JO: My greatest fear is not being successful.
HC: Define success.
JO: Success to me is doing well in school, finding a job, and all-around being able to perform to the best of my ability. I definitely take pride in my work and feel that I have failed it I have not given it my all. My parents have always taught me to be hard working so it’s important to me to be successful and prove that they have raised a daughter that will succeed in life.
HC: Do you see things in black and white, grays, or in color?
JO: Oh, definitely in color. Currently I just found out I need glasses so things might be a little blurry, but definitely in color. Emotions and expressions are definitely related to color. If someone’s angry, they’re red in the face. If someone is upset or sad, I think of blue. Life is definitely more interesting in color. That’s why fall is my favorite season- I love all the foliage. Without colors, there would be no fireworks or changes in seasons. Colors are a great way to express yourself.
HC: Who is the person you look up to the most.
JO: Definitely my dad. He is the most hardworking person I have ever met in my life. I’ve always been Daddy’s Little Princess! When I was in high school, he had lost his job after working there for 10 plus years- probably almost 20. After he was out of work for about a year, he decided he was going to open up his own business. The business he was going to open up was a very controversial topic at the time; he decided he wanted to open up his own gun store despite all the negativity in the media at the time concerning gun control, he overlooked the odds and pursued with his dream. He did this because he needed a way to support his family and never faulted once. Despite all the obstacles he had to overcome, his business has been open for about two years now and has successfully profited. Growing up, I never realized how much he actually sacrificed for me. Now, I appreciate it more that he will ever know. He is the reason I want to be so successful in life so I can return all the favors he has done for me.