Sport and Exercise Science
TEXAS TECH Graduate student assistant athletic trainer
DALLAS COWBOYS Athletic trainer intern
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO Resident athletic trainer
HANDS-ON LAB WORK HELPS ALUMNUS SUCCEED Theo Belhomme ’17 was introduced to WLC during a football recruiting event near his hometown of Kissimmee, Florida. After exploring his collegiate options, Theo knew that investing in his future at WLC was the right choice to prepare for his career as an athletic trainer. Prof. Rachel Kuehl ’96 met with Theo to plot out his courses for freshman year. “From day one, Prof. Kuehl has been awesome,” shared Theo. “We sat down in her office and laid out everything I had to get done – choosing the appropriate classes each semester to ensure my success.” After graduating from WLC, Theo went on to Texas Tech University Health Science Center to earn his Master of Athletic Training degree in 2019. Theo recalled: “Thanks to WLC, I was well prepared for graduate school. The improved study habits and extra knowledge I gained through WLC’s liberal arts curriculum helped me be successful at Texas Tech.” 12 | Spring 2022
Many of Theo’s graduate school peers didn’t have the hands-on opportunities like he experienced at WLC. For example, he learned to run equipment like the Biodex and VO2max machines in his labs. Theo also valued his anatomy and physiology classes – being able to learn with the use of human cadavers is an amazing opportunity. The anatomical kinesiology class he took at WLC was almost identical to the graduate class he took at Texas Tech. Theo was well prepared to conquer graduate school after earning his degree from WLC. Kuehl noted: “Sport and exercise science students have the unique opportunity to work with professors in multiple disciplines such as biology, psychology, and chemistry. They learn hands-on skills in diverse lab settings. These multiple academic perspectives provide the students with an enriched education rooted in the liberal arts and prepare them to be problem solvers as they enter their varied career settings.”
As part of his coursework at WLC, Theo was able to shadow sport and exercise science professionals. Those experiences cemented his decision to be an athletic trainer. Providing the same type of experiences to the next generation of Warriors is something Theo now enjoys doing. Kuehl said: “Theo, like other alumni, has stayed in contact with our program and has served as a guest speaker in the foundations course. He is able to give advice to underclassmen considering this major and share with them what a ‘day in the life’ of an athletic trainer is like. Students appreciate hearing about his experiences.” Theo has reached one of his goals since graduating from WLC: to work for an NCAA Division I university. During his career thus far, he has been a graduate student assistant athletic trainer for the men’s basketball team at Texas Tech, interned as an athletic trainer with the Dallas Cowboys, was the resident athletic trainer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and now serves as the assistant
