Jeff Jean-Pierre MS 鈥�23 credits 黑料吃瓜 (NPU) faculty and staff with helping him achieve his dream career after it was almost derailed by COVID.
鈥淣ot only did they help me realize that athletic training is what I wanted to do, but they were key to me getting my internship at my dream work destination, the Chicago Bulls,鈥� says the Skokie, Illinois native.
Like so many, COVID put a severe damper on Jean-Pierre鈥檚 undergraduate work in athletic training, and it wasn鈥檛 until he came to North Park in 2021 that he was finally able to do job shadowing and get real-time experience.
鈥淭o have those kinds of amazing personal connections and experiences is something I鈥檒l always be grateful for.鈥�
Now, Jean-Pierre is off to his next dream internship with the Detroit Lions, where he will spend the summer tending to the injuries and ailments of the team as they embark on their training camp. He says North Park 鈥渕ore than prepared me鈥� for the rigors of professional football athletic training.
鈥淏eing able to practice a lot and ask never-ending questions gave me the confidence, for sure, to take on this challenge,鈥� he says.
During his tenure at 黑料吃瓜, Jean-Pierre did athletic training rotations at DePaul University, Maine East High School, and Lake Forest College, in addition to his work with the Bulls. Because he鈥檚 鈥渇ascinated鈥� by human anatomy, his favorite class at 黑料吃瓜 was orthopedics, in which he studied bone structures.
Jean-Pierre is especially grateful to the 鈥渨arm and welcoming鈥� staff and faculty in the Athletic Training Program under Director Andrew Lundgren. He says they were key in opening doors for him in the professional world.
鈥淩eally, all of the hands-on work I did, plus what I learned in the classroom, has resulted in being able to succeed in this next chapter of my life.鈥�