Al (Alex) is a former Specialty Athletic Training intern and employee. He now is attending the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and is helping create change for himself and his peers. Continue reading for the full article that was published on The Daily Barometer. ​

By Zoë Sandvigen
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Students in Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy are standing up for their peers who have allegedly been discriminated against within the college and university due to their race. 
A recent meeting between students made headway for the small group who are fighting for equality within their school. Over 70 students attended and listened as pharmacy students of color shared story after story of the harmful experiences they have endured within the College of Pharmacy because of the color of their skin.
As a result, many more students, faculty and alumni stepped forward to share their own experiences. Al Jones, class president of the 2022 cohort and appointed diversity representative and ambassador, Daniela Olivas Shaw, College of Pharmacy student ambassador and Raven Waldron, also a College of Pharmacy Ambassador and appointed diversity representative, looked at the problem their community was facing and began curating the Project Achieve Diversity.
The plan’s intentions were written in a draft by the PAD team. The document stated to “create strategic planning documents, organize peer College of Pharmacy students, and provide support for those students who have been most affected by bias and prejudice within the college and university.”
This effort was also accompanied by Megan Alhadeff and Caitlin Morris, fellow College of Pharmacy students. Using the PAD foundation, members created an initiative detailing the goals and values of the group aimed to recruit peers who were interested in joining forces. A petition was also created and began circulating in order to gain enough traction to request a meeting with administration. 
The student’s first request for a meeting addressing the death of George Floyd’s death was June 1. The first meeting took place on June 4 between students and the meeting with the Dean and representative from the International Diversity faculty member took place June 11.
Dean of the College of Pharmacy, Grace Kuo, and Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Charlene Alexander and Assistant Director for Outreach Brandi Douglas agreed to a Zoom meeting with over 100 graduate and professional students in the audience. 
Alexander is one of the university’s diversity leaders and works alongside partners to implement institutionalized change as needed to advance diversity and equity. 
“The importance of advancing inclusive excellence at Oregon State has never been more important during these challenging times. Diversity is important to innovation and creativity, and strengthens our society,” Alexander said by email. “Additionally, the demographics of Oregon are rapidly shifting towards more racial and ethnic diversity, and as a community we must demonstrate how we are for each other."
Alexander said she is fortunate to have a great team to work beside when questions of diversity are called to action. Alexander and her partners stay committed to their mission and work through issues in order to develop a plan to tackle problems that arise within the university, she said. 
Accounts of the meeting as written by Jones, Shaw and Waldron stated, “Student leaders shared a list of demands, backed by research, that will help to improve the climate and environment in the College of Pharmacy. While Dr. Kuo and Dr. Alexander offered helpful resources already available to all OSU students, they also recognized the work being done by student leaders and the need for more intentional programs to be implemented by the administration to specifically support College of Pharmacy students.”
In the wake of this meeting, Alexander said all members of the OSU community need to be constantly mindful of all voices. She also said herself and her team’s decision making is always based on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. 
“I want to recognize our student leaders for their courageous work and efforts during this time,” Alexander said via email. “They continue to hold us accountable and ensure that we continue the momentum started through their engagement and participation in several town hall meetings.”
Since the meeting, members of the PAD have been assured that Dean Kuo is in meeting with faculty and staff within the College of Pharmacy addressing the demands and changes. Students hope these alterations will be implemented soon. At the time of publication, there are no updates from faculty addressing the PAD’s demands.
“We are confident that the college is committed to working with us to achieve the key needs we expressed in all the meetings and are already seeing improvements in transparency and speed of action in response to student concerns,” Jones, Shaw and Waldron said via email. “In the past week, the students involved have felt more seen, heard and valued than ever before in their entire time in the program.”

(As seen on www.seahawks.com on 6/8/20)

Good afternoon, 12s.

Here's a look at what's 'out there' for today – Monday, June 8 – about your Seattle Seahawks:

Bringing A Smile

Bringing some positive interaction with local athletes, Jacob Hollister and his twin brother, Cody, had a very special surprise for children across Portland and Central Oregon. They partnered with Specialty Athletic Training, a company that works to provide personal training services exclusively for clients with special needs. For those who may have previously had negative experiences with exercise, Specialty Athletic Training helps their clients exercise in a thoughtful and engaging way.
Hoping to turn these negative experiences into positive ones, the organization looks to set up their clients with professional athletes like Jacob and Cody Hollister.

As Oregon natives, the Hollister brothers understand the impact that one surprise call can make: "It just puts everything in perspective, where it's easy to get caught up being in this bubble and just being in the NFL and being used to it. You think back to when we were kids and just how excited we were just to be at an NFL game… That just puts it all in perspective… It makes the day, it makes the week.

(KPTV) – While gyms remain closed, more and more groups have turned to virtual workouts that might be more of the norm after the virus subsides.

Ryan Lockard found his career calling while playing, then coaching at Lewis & Clark.
“I found a job on Craigslist working with a 13-year-old boy with autism and that part-time job ended up becoming my independent study, so I wrote a paper on autism and my experience working with Ben. He is the one that the logo is designed after and the inspiration behind the whole company, and he is like a little brother to me,” said Lockard.

That initial connection with his buddy Ben led Lockard to creating Specialty Athletic Training nearly eight years ago to serve athletes with special needs.
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“A lot of people, especially now with social media, were reaching out to us saying, ‘We’d love if you were in this area or that area of this state so, geographically we were limited,’” Lockard said.

Over the years, Specialty has grown larger than I ever could have imagined. With 4 training locations in the Pacific Northwest and having served over 450 individuals, our promo vid needed to be updated.
I looked around and immediately clicked with Travis Thompson of Elevation 0m and knew I wanted to work with him. The plan was to shoot at all four locations over the span of a month and release the new promotional video in April. We filmed Bend (Boss Sports Performance) on a Sunday, SE Portland (StrengthFarm Performance) on Monday, and then our world was put to a halt on Thursday due to COVID-19.

Sports has taught me a lot during my life and the lessons of handling adversity I still use on a daily basis. I coach football at La Salle Hugh School and we address handling these type of situations by the equation "E+R=O". The "E" in the equation stands for an event, the "R" stands for your response, and the "O" stands for the outcome.

Life happens and will throw you a variety of events that you have to respond to. Your response to the event determines the outcome. It is the only thing that you can control.
When COVID-19 turned my world upside down by shutting down gyms and placing my shoot with Elevation 0m on pause, I had a decision to make. To a sit and sulk that things didn't go as planned? Or do I look for a new way to serve our clients and potentially more people all over the world by shifting our business? I chose the latter.
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This past Thursday, Travis came up to Portland to film Bradley Carter and Emily Hatch providing our services in the new virtual world 🌎 This wasn't the initial film that we intended to release, however it is a new business opportunity that will allow us to serve more people long term. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends (it will eventually). Remember that you always have a choice on how you can respond to events that happen in your life. It is your response that will dictate the outcome.

As featured in Spectrum Life Magazine Winter 2019 Issue

Winter is no longer coming; it is finally here! The holiday season is in full swing and your child is about to home 24/7 with the schools taking a short hiatus. Changes in the weather and the daily routine may cause some increased anxiety and stress for everyone in the family, which is why it is even more important than ever to get your body moving!
 
This may seem like to your child the best opportunity to binge on playing Fortnite, or finally creating their own YouTube channel, it is important to get them moving. Exercise has been shown to help with self-regulation and help reduce stress, as well as the symptoms of anxiety and depression. The best way to get your child moving is by setting the example and join them. Chances are that they are more likely to follow your lead.
 
Here are five ideas to increase your family’s activity level and decrease the stress of the holiday season.

Add a twist to your holiday traditions – Each family has their own traditions during the holiday season. Whatever yours are, try to add an active twist to it. Does your family decorate a Christmas tree? Well, where do you buy your tree? Stores have made it convenient for you by offering trees for sale outside, similar to pumpkins in October. Try going to a u-cut tree farm this season. Walk around the farm with your family trying to find the “perfect” tree. Not only is it a great way to bond and create memories, but it will also get the entire family active.

Make the TV your workout partner – It may seem like a constant battle to limit your child’s screen time, especially when they’re on winter break. I know that I used to LOVE the winter breaks from school because that meant I could FINALLY play the newest Madden football game and get through an entire season (or two) all while lounging in my favorite bean bag chair. Replace that bean bag chair with that exercise bike from the garage. (If you don’t have an exercise bike, they can be found on Craigslist for under $100). Incentivize more screen time for riding the bike while they play.

Is your child not the video game type? No problem. You can add exercise breaks to any activity. Are they glued to the TV? Join them during the commercials for exercise time. Do they love reading a good book? Either agree on a page limit or set a timer before taking a quick exercise break.

The exercises don’t have to be complicated. Do simple bodyweight exercises that will increase their heart rate or walk up the stairs of your hallway or apartment complex. Remember, kids are often more inclined to do the exercises with you, instead of by themselves.

Dude, where’s my car? – Raise your hand if you scour the parking lot to find the closest spot when going to the grocery store or mall? Ok, put your hand down. We are all guilty of this. Make an attempt to park in the back of the parking lot to increase the distance that you must walk to go shopping. And keep an umbrella in your car to limit your excuse of walking due to the rain.
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Sticker, please! – One thing that we’ve learned over the years at Specialty Athletic Training is that our clients LOVE stickers. We use a sticker chart at our Vancouver location and now we can’t imagine not having one. It is something that you can easily implement at home as well. Assign different stickers for different activities and then have a reward when a certain number of stickers has been reached. Did you walk for 30 minutes looking a Christmas lights? Green sticker. Did you and your child do exercises in between episodes of Stranger Things? Blue stickers for both of you. You get the idea. You can assign stickers and rewards however you want, but this should be a fun (and visual) way for the family to track their increased activity. Keep it fun and keep each other motivated! 

Treat yo’ self – The holiday season can easily leave us feeling drained and our cups empty. Make sure to take the time to take care of yourself and refill your cup when needed. Try and take a nightly bubble bath, schedule that mani/pedi, or simply wake up 5-10 minutes earlier in the morning and meditate. Best way to take care of others is to take care of yourself. Plan time to get out of the holiday chaos and schedule in some “me” time.  

His program is designed specifically to help him on the court. He needs the strength to pass the ball to his teammates and put up shots, so we do medicine ball exercises that increase his strength in various game like movements. He also needs to be able to have complete control of his chair and maneuver to get away from his defender, grab loose balls on the court, and play defense himself. We work on his core and upper body strength to give him the strength to control his chair, as well as the confidence to bend over and grab the ball off the ground as his chair continues to move forward.

His hard work is paying off. He is shooting the ball with ease and is a menace on defense. Keep dreaming big Jack and one day they'll be putting a banner in the rafters of you! 

What does a workout look like at Specialty Athletic Training? We get this question A LOT! You would understand why if you knew the current obesity epidemic that is currently sweeping across the United States, especially how it is impacting the special needs community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 5 children with special health care needs are considered obese. That number jumps to over 1 in 3 for adults. That is 38% and 58% higher than their peers! So it is no wonder why parents are asking for help getting their children moving.  

Our current clients visit Specialty Athletic Training twice a week an hour workout. Is this enough to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines? Absolutely not. But we aim to make fitness enjoyable and provide guidance so that our clients feel empowered to exercise on their own, hopefully getting close to the weekly recommended activity levels. That being said, we try to ensure that many of the exercises that they do with us (or at least variations) can be done at home. Here are 6 exercises that are in a majority of our programs for our clients that are easily done in the gym or at home.

"I am such a huge fan of you people! I'm stronger and it's obvious. 

Today, during our session, with Katie's excellent guidance, I was able to kick up the weight levels on several of the machines. It's clear that this makes sense because I'm stronger!  Also, over the weekend, I had to be up in rainy Seattle, around the new Google and Amazon buildings. Those locations have very steep inclines and wet surfaces. There are few railings or grab bars around. Last year, I would have had great concern about falling, etc. This time, I still had to be careful but I had NO such concerns about falling.

When I first started Specialty Athletic Training, I envisioned creating an inclusive and supporting community that provided access to fitness to individuals with special needs. A place where differences didn't matter, rather they were celebrated, and exercise was the means of finding the common ground to support each other. We have created that community at each one of the locations that we train at, but we have started to witness it's affect on the greater Portland community as well.

Back in July, a player (Jake Gricius) from the Portland Winterhawks came across one of our social media channels and immediately wanted to get the team involved.  After some phone calls and emails, we were able to schedule a time for some of the team to come to our Vancouver location, Stephen's Place, and watch our clients in action.

I'm going to hit the pause button for a second. For those of you reading that do not know who the Portland Winterhawks are, CLICK HERE. 

 Back to their visit. When given the opportunity and correct environment, exercise has a way of magically breaking down stereotypes and barriers. It happened during this visit and it was amazing to watch the evolution of the relationships being formed.

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When the guys first arrived, they received a tour of the amazing facility at Stephen's Place. They interacted with the residents and signed autographs. This experience alone would have been a great experience for the young hockey players to increase their awareness of disability and acceptance of others. However, the next part of their visit left a lasting impression that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Although very kind, the players were a little reserved during their initial interactions. That all changed the moment we took them to the weight room.

As an athlete, you pour a lot of your soul into the weight room. It becomes your safe haven for self improvement and reinforce lasting relationships with your teammates as they workout beside you. You can walk into a gym and immediately feel at ease because it is a familiar environment. This was apparent immediately when the Winterhawks stepped foot into the fitness center. 

We walked into the fitness center to show the team some of our clients in action and the rest is history. They immediately relaxed and began joining the adult group that they had come to watch. It was like someone had flipped a switch. They began to support our clients and exercise along with them, as well as giving them assistance and showering them with positive support. They knew exactly what to do when they walked into that room and it was amazing to witness. 

Athletics and fitness continue to be the common ground that I'm able to use to destigmatize disability and create opportunity. After their visit, our clients and their families had the opportunity to shower the players with their own praise as they attended their match in the Moda Center. Cheering on not only our favorite hockey team, but our new favorite hockey players as well!