{"id":156139,"date":"2024-05-08T10:06:33","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T16:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=156139"},"modified":"2024-05-10T10:31:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T16:31:00","slug":"commencement-feature-student-athlete-to-health-advocate-keegan-sueltz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=156139","title":{"rendered":"Commencement Feature: Student-athlete to health advocate | Keegan Sueltz"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Feb 11, 2023; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; The UCCS Mountain Lions hosted the San Francisco State Gators in men\u2019s baseball at Mountain Lion Park. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Keegan was a baseball player who had an extra year of eligibility after graduating from Nicholls State University in Louisiana.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was kind of looking for a place that I could play baseball and further my education as well, and I knew I wanted to go to Physical Therapy school eventually, so I wanted to pick something that would be beneficial to my career,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was looking at all of the schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, because I knew I wanted to be in this region of the country, it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Keegan said. \u201cSo I was researching schools and with UCCS, everything fell into place. It was a good fit baseball-wise, it was a good fit academically, so I was sold.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan got recruited by the UCCS baseball team and met Jess Kirby, the Health Promotion Graduate Program Coordinator, who explained to him what the program was and how it could benefit him in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was sold on that, too, and I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in the program,\u201d said Keegan. \u201cHealth promotion has given me a leg up on other students. I think I have a better idea of what it\u2019s like to work with patients and find that holistic style of care that we talk about so much that other future PTs might not have gotten to experience. The program here at UCCS has really prepared me to be a better practitioner and given me a totally different perspective than a lot of my peers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Keegan, as a student-athlete, the connections he made during his time at UCCS were twofold.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst of all, the relationships I\u2019ve been able to make, especially on the baseball team, have been really great,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s one nice thing about being an athlete is that when you come in to a new place, you have almost a built-in family that you join, a built-in support system. They\u2019re there for you automatically.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan also pointed to the relationships he\u2019s made in the health promotion program as a highlight.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a small cohort in the program, and so we\u2019ve all gotten really close, we help each other out,\u201d he said. \u201cSo those relationships have been crucial as well, with the students but also the faculty and staff \u2013 they\u2019ve been very supportive, they want the best for you, and they\u2019ve helped me a lot to grow as a person and academically and given me a lot of opportunities to further myself.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tend to be kind of a shy guy, but I\u2019ve been put in a few different leadership roles here at UCCS, and that\u2019s really helped me to develop as a person, develop my leadership skills,\u201d he continued.  \u201cIt\u2019s pulled that side out of me, pulled me out of my shell a little bit, and given me the ability to be a leader.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those leadership positions was a role in Mountain Lion Strong<\/a>, a program that helps student-athletes with identity development, healthy relationships, goal setting and holistic wellness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been awesome, being able to be a part of that program,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019re making a huge difference in the lives of the athletes here at UCCS.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan is the lead graduate assistant for the injury support group, helping with research and curriculum development and working with athletes who have been injured in their sport.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe talk about their mental health, the struggles they might be having, not just physically but emotionally throughout their recovery,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe try and help them navigate those things and get through it so they can return to their sport better, both physically and mentally.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has been a joy to mentor Keegan and watch him grow into a confident and impactful leader over the past two years, and I couldn\u2019t be prouder of him!” said Kirby. “He quickly emerged as a leader with initiative and commitment to excellence as a peer leader for Mountain Lion Strong. Through his dedication in leading the first-ever athlete injury support groups for UCCS athletes and as my lead research graduate assistant, he contributed to our team\u2019s mission of innovating student-athlete mental health and wellness support and education. He has truly impressed me at every turn.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan\u2019s greatest challenge at UCCS? 
 
\u201cThe weather,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI\u2019m from Texas, so being in the cold winters with all the snow was definitely different and a little bit of a shock to the system. But it\u2019s those new experiences that I\u2019ve loved so much.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan will soon return to the weather he\u2019s used to. He has been accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at University of North Texas and is excited to be starting in July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in physical therapy,\u201d he said. \u201cAs an athlete, I always wanted to do something that kept me around sports, that\u2019s what I love. So I always want to be around those athletes, engaging with them. And I enjoy helping people, so that kind of just led me to the field of physical therapy. It allows me to do what I love, to engage with the people that I love, and then to make a difference in their lives and hopefully help improve them.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Keegan leaves behind a powerful legacy at UCCS that will continue to benefit our athletes for years to come,” said Kirby. “Our campus won\u2019t be the same without him, but I have no doubt he will be an impactful leader in sports medicine as he pursues his DPT degree and will be someone that holistically cares for and advocates for athlete well-being for decades to come.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keegan encourages his fellow students to get involved, maybe contributing to their own legacy, no matter how busy they might be with school or sports.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never really got involved outside of sports during my undergrad, but when I got to UCCS I got involved with other programs, and that\u2019s been one of best things I\u2019ve ever done. Get involved with different things on campus \u2013 clubs, organizations \u2013 it’s a great way to meet new people, make new friends, and get yourself outside of your bubble and make a difference. And that\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student-athlete Keegan Sueltz talks about his UCCS experience, from baseball to academics to his work in the Mountain Lion Strong program. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":156296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[42,105,332,60],"class_list":["post-156139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-commencement","tag-helen-and-arthur-e-johnson-beth-el-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","tag-more-news","tag-student-success"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Communique-Featured-Image-Keegan-3.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-ECn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156139"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156304,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156139\/revisions\/156304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/156296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=156139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=156139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}