UNK’s 3+2 Master of Athletic Training program helps Cassandra McDonald knockout her unique goals

“At UNK, they encourage you here, they support you here, and they tailor it to you,” Cassandra McDonald, current University of Nebraska at Kearney’s 3+2 Master of Athletic Training student said. 
 
Through UNK’s new accelerated programs, students like McDonald can knock out both their undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years. McDonald and other MAT graduates will leave UNK with on-the-job experience based on their individual career goals. 
 
“I don't know if that's how it is everywhere, but I don't think I would have been able to get the specific experience that I wanted because my desires are pretty unique compared to a lot of other people’s,” continued McDonald. 
 
Unique indeed. Inspired by Michael Jordan’s “Physical Architect” Tim Grover, McDonald hopes to achieve what Grover did with his athletes through her athletic training education as well as incorporating strength and conditioning. 
 
“I don't want to just have athletes and make them better or help them with their injuries,” McDonald said. “I want to build them from the ground up.” 
 

Unlike Grover’s focus on the court, McDonald hopes to concentrate on the ring. 
 
As an avid boxer herself at Kearney’s Quintana Boxing, McDonald believes that many of the injuries that land combat sport athletes in the hospital could be treated by a certified athletic trainer. Yet, this highly physical sport currently does not staff athletic trainers. 
 
McDonald plans to combat this gap in services with the help of her UNK professors, who have customized lectures and assignments and created specific experiential learning opportunities focused on combat sports. 
 
Among these experiences was a three-day trip to Colorado Springs to meet and learn from professional boxer Terence Crawford’s strength and conditioning coach. As well as a day at UFC Performance Institute in Clark County, Nevada, which is labeled the international leader in health, wellbeing, and performance for combat sports. 
 
“I ended up getting to go for just one day, which they normally don't do because they have their own internship program, but because it was Dr. (Joe) Eisenmann recommending me, I got to go,” McDonald said. 
 

McDonald has learned the importance of building a strong network within her field and she has many current and former UNK professors in her corner. Her growing network includes former UNK professor Dr. Quincy Johnson who recently accepted an Assistant Professor of Health, Sport, and Exercise position at the University of Kansas. 
 
Dr. Johnson never had McDonald in his classroom. In fact, the two did not even meet at UNK, but at Kearney Combat where he saw her passion for learning and the drive that allowed her to excel not only in the ring but also the classroom. 
 
Dr. Johnson later nominated McDonald for the 2023 Exercise Science Undergraduate Student of the Year, which she was awarded, and recently encouraged her to join him at KU to receive her Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology under his supervision. 
 
“We just have the same mentality,” McDonald said of Dr. Johnson. “I hope that I can be like him when I grow up because he was just an awesome person to have in my life and I'm excited to be able to go and learn under him next year.” 
 
After crossing UNK’s commencement stage Friday, August 9 surrounded by her family, friends, and boxing family, she will be one step closer to knocking out her goals. McDonald’s next big fight will begin in the fall when she attends Kansas University to pursue her Ph.D.