SHANNON PENSE-ICTC
WEBBERS FALLS HIGH SCHOOL
Having a couple of relatives that suffered injuries has played a part in Webbers Falls senior Shannon Pense’s decision to take the Sports Medicine class at Indian Capitol Technology Center in Muskogee.
“I took the nursing course last year and saw people who were injured and doing physical therapy and I thought I’d like to get into that. I also had a cousin who broke an ankle and a grandma who twisted an ankle badly and saw how they suffered. I think I just have heart for helping folks and when I see someone get hurt and I can help, it makes me feel good,” said Shannon who also plays softball and runs track for the Warriors.
The Sports Medicine, or more correctly the Therapy Technician course at ICTC, is a one-year course that covers a lot of ground according to instructor Megan Caldwell.
“We cover a little bit about a whole lot of therapy areas,” Caldwell explained. “We cover a lot of anatomy, physiology and terminology which is probably the most challenging area for most of the students. They come in here knowing they’ll get a lot of hands-on training with six weeks of clinical work in the field at the end of the year. It’s so enjoyable to watch the students be able to see in practice what they’ve read about or practiced in lab work. That’s where we get to see the A-ha moments.”
Caldwell says that Shannon has a little advantage over many of the students having taken the nursing program last year.
“Shannon is a funny delight to have but a hard worker and good helper to her classmates. She’s taken a lot of what she’s learned in these two classes and is already applying them at a facility here in Muskogee.”
As a senior Shannon is a leader both on her softball team and in the ICTC classroom.
“For me leadership is about working with others and not yelling at them but instead going out and helping them if they need it.”
Shannon plans to attend the nursing program at Connors State College next year and would like to become a traveling nurse or physical therapist.
