Springfield, Mass. — September 12, 2025 — Hailey Gaydos (Newington, Conn.), an athletic training major and junior on the Springfield College field hockey and women's lacrosse teams, recently completed an internship with the strength and conditioning program at Division I Sacred Heart University. While on the Fairfield, Connecticut campus, Gaydos worked with football and assisted with both the men's and women's basketball programs.

What does a typical day look like for you in this role?

My typical day included waking up at 4:30 am. Got on the road around 5:00 am. Arrived at SHU for 5:50 am, and started setting up around six. We set up the weight room and the field for lifts and the speed work of the day. Football would lift from 7-9 am and then basketball would lift 9-10 am. I helped by taking body weights, fixing form, answering questions, and writing down speed-gate times. After all the lifts were completed, I cleaned the weight room and input any data from the day into the iPads. From there, I would make sure the coaches didn't need anything else from me, then I was able to use the weight room for my lifts and get in my workout. I would then leave SHU and be done for the day around 12:30 pm.
  
Is there a specific project or task from your experience that you're especially proud of?

I didn't really have a specific project that I had to complete at SHU but I was put in charge of attendance for the football team every morning. This was definitely a daunting task as a first-time intern, and hopping into a weight room of 80+ guys was not an easy task. It took a few weeks, but the first day that I didn't have to ask a guy's name felt like a huge win. Being able to know each of their names made it easier to make connections and talk to them as a coach. It also opened up a door of respect because I was not just another face running through the weight room, but someone who wanted to know them, be able to help them, and make sure they felt comfortable in the weight room. 

How has this internship influenced your future goals or career path?

I started as a strength and conditioning major, but recently switched to athletic training. Being back in the weight room was a lot of fun and had me questioning if I made the right decision by switching. Throughout the summer, I realized that I do love the strength and conditioning side of athletics, but I do enjoy the "medical" side just a little more! Understanding how the professions work together and even having the strength and conditioning knowledge will greatly help me and my athletes in the future.  Being able to work with a football team was a great experience as I feel that I work well with the larger group of individuals. Having the opportunity to narrow down the population really helped me become aware of what team(s) I would look to work with in the future. Overall, SHU really helped me see two different positions from one internship, it helped solidify what I truly want to study, and the helped me see the environment that I can't wait to work in.  

What advice would you give to a student interested in pursuing a similar internship?

For someone going into their next (or even first) internship, I would have to say to be adaptable! Be open to changing your ways, changing plans, changing routines etc. Going into a new position is always scary and intimidating, but how you react to the new changes is what you will gain from it. If you embrace the new learning and changes from what you're used to, then you will gain THAT much more from the experience. No two weight rooms are the same so what you learn from one you can always take to another, so once again, be open to the change and embrace all the new learning!

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