BY: Haley Jones, Director of Marketing and Development
Memorial Health System (MHS), along with Abilene High School (AHS), have benefited for many years with long-time Athletic Trainer, Justin Clark, taking care of patients and spending countless hours supporting student-athletes. MHS is very proud of Justin’s accomplishments during his reign in Abilene, and we wish him all the best in his next career move! His leaving for an opportunity to advance in his profession created an opening that is not an easy one to fill. Memorial Health System (MHS) is fortunate and happy to announce that Kaylene Matlack has filled the position of Athletic Trainer, just in time for the new school year and the sports season that follows!
Kaylene grew up in the small town of Burton, Ks; located between Newton and Hutchinson, with a population close to 900. Her knowledge of Abilene came from her grandpa who was nicknamed Ike after President Eisenhower. “Growing up, anytime my family would travel near Abilene, that was always the story I got.” What a coincidence that it would eventually be the place where she landed a career and turned into her new home.
“In a small school like Burton, you find yourself doing everything, so I played volleyball and basketball and I was a thrower in track. I even did cheerleading for a little bit.” Kaylene was known as an athlete and a leader among her classmates. She is super excited for the opportunity to teach at AHS, although she will not start doing that until the spring semester. She will use the first semester to review what Justin had in place and make it fit for her, and of course, while she works on that, she will be attending the fall sporting events to keep the athletes healthy.
Athletic Trainers are not easy to come by. The demands for the profession are growing more rapidly than the number of students studying to be Athletic Trainers. In fact, Kaylene was the only one in her class while she was at school in Emporia. Traditionally, Athletic Trainers are found in hospitals, schools, and higher-level sports teams, but large businesses are now seeing the benefits of having this kind of professional on staff to handle on-the-job work injuries as well. This is just another reason that Kaylene is excited to start teaching classes in the spring. She wants students to know about the profession of an Athletic Trainer, unlike herself; if it weren’t for a slice of pizza, she may not have found the career that was a perfect fit for her.
“I always wanted to be a teacher, a doctor, or a coach,” she said. Kaylene had already received her acceptance letter to the University of Kansas with plans to follow a healthcare path, although she wasn’t quite sure which direction she would go with it. Her plans literally changed over a lunch period when Hutchinson Community College was visiting her high school and offering pizza to stop by their booth and fill out an application. When she reached the part that asked, which of these activities interest you, she saw athletic training in the list of choices and inquired more about it. It was exactly what she pictured herself doing, and her plans changed immediately.
Hutchinson Community College is where Kaylene got started. She received a scholarship and became an Athletic Training Student. “A lot of junior colleges have this opportunity; it’s extra hands for them and gives the students much-needed experience.” After her two years in Hutchinson, she continued her schooling at Kansas State University (KSU) where she thought she would be able to stay all the way through her master’s program. Unfortunately, KSU did not get their Athletic Training program started during her attendance there. She finished KSU with her bachelor’s degree in 2021, but had to transfer yet again to obtain her master’s degree from a school that would also give her the appropriate accreditation that she needed. Kaylene graduated in May of this year from Emporia State University.
Taking the position as Athletic Trainer at MHS will allow Kaylene to get very close to all three of the career aspirations she had growing up. It is the perfect fit at just the right time. Through the magic of networking, and being involved in all the right places, she was informed of the open position. “After interviewing and finding that there was a really great support staff in place here, they were so welcoming, it didn’t even feel like an interview; it was more like orientation day almost. That’s what sold me on MHS.”
Kaylene is big on family, she has not started one of her own yet, so being close enough to travel back to Burton was also a factor for her, and Abilene is only an hour and a half away.
When asked about her professional goals, Kaylene said, “I am actually living my professional goals right now!” Kaylene hopes to inspire more students to be Athletic Trainers and help grow this field so smaller schools, like the one in her hometown of Burton, will have an Athletic Trainer one day.
If Kaylene could have any superpower, she said she would be a shapeshifter. “I have actually thought of this before,” she chuckled. “Being able to shapeshift would give you so many different powers. If I turned into a hawk, I could fly. If I turn into a fly, I am pretty much invisible.” MHS is certainly eager to see what “real superpowers” Kaylene pulls out of her back pocket, and Abilene is lucky to have a person like Kaylene taking on the incredibly important job of Athletic Trainer. Welcome, Kaylene!
