{"id":147392,"date":"2024-02-23T09:50:31","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=147392"},"modified":"2024-12-11T14:29:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T19:29:33","slug":"switch-hitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2024\/02\/23\/switch-hitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Switch hitter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ryan Clark was inspired to pursue a career in emergency medical services after connecting with the Fairborn Fire Department during a course at Wright State.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ryan Clark was a sports science major<\/a>, happily matriculating through his academic requirements and on pace to graduate from Wright State University in three years.<\/p>\n

Then something shifted and he changed his career choice \u2013 and today he\u2019s never been happier on his new path.<\/p>\n

As a three-sport letterman at his high school in Ayersvlle, near Defiance, Clark was initially drawn to studying sports science at Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played football, basketball and ran track for all four years,\u201d he said. \u201cI pushed toward medicine because I had a love for medicine and a love for sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

He enrolled at Wright State and dived into his studies, which included a sports medicine concentration.<\/p>\n

But during the Fall 2023 Semester, was able to ride along with the Fairborn Fire Department as part of his coursework. The experience opened his eyes and his mind to a path he had never considered before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was with those fire and rescue people, they saw the darkest part of people\u2019s lives,\u201d Clark said. \u201cEverybody deep inside wants to help, to be a friendly face.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the Fairborn crews helped make the days a little better for those who called in with an emergency.<\/p>\n

Clark had planned to go into physical therapy, but after his experience with the fire department, he shifted his emphasis from sports to the general community to be that helper, a friendly face.<\/p>\n

He is already a helper in the academic arena as a member of the Dean\u2019s Student Advisory Board of the College of Health, Education and Human Services<\/a>. After serving last year as the board\u2019s communications and outreach coordinator, Clark is the president this year.<\/p>\n

The 12-member board is encouraged to be the eyes and ears of the college to provide insights into students\u2019 needs, while working closely with Dean Jim Denniston, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thankful that we students have a voice,\u201d Clark said, adding that Denniston connects well with students. \u201cWe love him for it,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is no surprise that Ryan serves as president of the college\u2019s Dean\u2019s Student Advisory Board,\u201d Denniston said. \u201cHis years of playing high school sports instilled in him the ability to excel in team settings and well prepared him for the leadership roles that he currently occupies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark is on track to graduate in the spring of 2024 after three years. He has applied to the City of Dayton\u2019s fire and rescue training academy and realizes the hiring process is long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a significant change in my career choice,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody plans for that, but Wright State showed me what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark credits Rebekah Bower, program director in athletic training and faculty advisor in the sports science and sports medicine concentration, for connecting him with the Fairborn crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur athletic training degree program has a long history of working closely with Fairborn EMS,\u201d Bower said. \u201cI suggested he complete an observation experience with this department. Ryan is a highly motivated student and jumped at the chance. It was very exciting to see that this experience ignited his passion for emergency medical services and has set him on his career path. The EMS field is getting a rock star.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State has been great,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it could\u2019ve gone any better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ryan Clark was inspired to pursue a career in emergency medical services after connecting with the Fairborn Fire Department during a course at Wright State. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":147400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2017,744,4898,715,4298,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-nursing-health","category-education-human-services","category-kinesiology-health-sciences","category-news","category-student-profile","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147392"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147406,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147392\/revisions\/147406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}