UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
KINESIOLOGY & HEALTH PROMOTION
Photo courtesy of Jose Rey | New York Jets
Connie Andujar on the practice field with Jets players Leger Douzable, Kellen Davis and Jeff Cumberland.
ALUMNI PROFILE: Connie andujar
UK graduate interns with New York Jets
Fresh off an internship with the New York Jets, 2014
University of Kentucky graduate Connie Andujar reflects on
her experience studying Exercise Science in the UK College
of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health
Promotion. Andujar is now pursuing a master’s degree in
Athletic Training from Seton Hall and plans to have a career
in collegiate athletics.
What brought you to the University of Kentucky?
Being from Ossining, NY, I didn’t know much about
Kentucky. For Christmas, my dad got tickets to see a
UCONN basketball game at Madison Square Garden and it
just so happened they were playing Kentucky. We were just
in awe at how many Kentucky fans were there. I remember
saying to my dad, “Wow, there are more fans for a school
that’s 12 hours away than for a school that’s only two hours
away.”
That was the night I decided to apply to Kentucky.
My decision was between UCONN and Kentucky, so the
deciding factor was the campus visit.
It was the meeting with Dr. Steve Parker in the College
10
of Education that really sold us on the school. He was the
one who told me about the opportunities working within
athletics and assured me I could accomplish all I wanted if I
came to Kentucky.
What athletic training experience did you get during
college?
By my sophomore year, I was assigned to working with
the football team. Camp by far was the hardest. The days
were long and hot, the team practiced twice a day. Between
setting up the fields, hydrating during practice and overall
maintenance of the training room, it was a lot. Once class
started we would have football practice in the morning,
getting there around 5:30 or 6 a.m. and then ending around
noon or 1 p.m., before starting classes for the day.
Home games were a lot of fun. They were all-day events,
having to arrive early to set up the locker rooms and fields
and then manage the sidelines during the game. There were
around 10 students, and one or two students would travel to
each away game.
During the middle of football season, I was switched to
COE COMMUNICATOR | APRIL 2016