THRIVE TO TRAIN

Taylor Gaines is no stranger to hard work. Since she was old enough to be employed, she’s been bringing home paychecks, working hard to provide for her family and for her future.

“I was working two jobs in high school, helping pay for rent and bills,” says Gaines, who experienced stretches of homelessness growing up in Detroit. “We went through periods where we were staying at hotels. I went to three different high schools … and I didn’t really have a stable learning environment because I was switching schools all the time.”

Displaying incredible resilience, Gaines pushed forward, determined to go to college and eventually help families and children who were also struggling. She’ll take a giant step toward that goal, graduating from Western Michigan University on Saturday, Dec. 18, with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training and plans to attend graduate school for physical therapy. “My mission is to be able to help my community,” says Gaines. “I know I want to work in a clinic for sure, but I also want to open a pro bono clinic, giving free services to people that can’t afford them. Once I get my athletic training degree and physical therapy (graduate) degree, I want to be able to offer those services part of the time.”

THRIVING AT WESTERN

Gaines always had the potential to succeed, but access to higher education wasn’t guaranteed. “When it was time for me to apply to colleges, I didn’t really have much support,” she says. “I mainly did the college search myself, applying to colleges that weren’t too far from home but not too close either. Western was the only one where I went on a tour. Once I stepped foot on campus, it immediately felt like home. It felt like the perfect size.” She points out the support and welcomeness she immediately felt from students, faculty and staff alike—support that helped guide her to her passion when she initially felt lost. “I actually changed my major three times,” says Gaines, who knew she ultimately wanted to pursue physical therapy (PT) but wasn’t sure the right path to get there. Through the Broncos FIRST program, which helps firstyear students make the transition to college and provides mentorship and resources to lead students to success, and the help of her advisor, Gaines found her stride in athletic training. ”Holly (Sisson), the program director, has helped me so much. She’s been on my journey from the start,” she says. “She meets with me once a week just to do what I want to do. ‘You want to work on competencies? You want to work on (PT school) essays? Cool. You want to just sit here and talk about life? Cool.’ Just having a support system like that means the world.” A number of internship opportunities have also impacted her education, allowing her to put what she learned in the classroom into practice with the Western men’s basketball team, Armor Physical Therapy and Sindecuse Sports Medicine Clinic. She is currently a student athletic trainer at Plainwell High School.

“Without those experiences, I probably would not be an athletic trainer. I made a lot of connections through them, and those people have been a big part of my professional growth.”

“I have a mission to be able to help my community. It’s always been a big thing to me to make sure that there are spaces for minorities.

Taylor Gaines