UMaine students, alum recognized at EATA annual convention
Athletic training students Gabe Benson and Gavin Parks and alumnus Tim Weston were among the members of the University of Maine community to participate in the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (EATA) 76th Annual Convention, held January 5-8 in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Benson, a junior from Millinocket, Maine, represented the UMaine athletic training education program and the state as a student delegate. He was part of a group that planned the workshops and symposiums for the conference’s student program.
Parks, a senior from Calais, Maine, received the Joseph Abraham Scholarship as an outstanding student from District One, which encompasses New England. He also competed in the conference’s Quiz Bowl, finishing in second place despite facing mostly graduate students, He also earned a spot on a team that will represent EATA District One at the National Quiz Bowl during the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) convention in June in New Orleans. This will be the third year in a row that a UMaine athletic training student will compete at the National Quiz Bowl.
Weston, of Waterville, was inducted into the EATA 49 Club, the organization’s Hall of Fame, for sustained service and leadership in the field of athletic training. Currently an associate athletic director and director of sports medicine at Colby College, Weston earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training in 1988 and a master’s degree in educational leadership in 2004, both from UMaine. He is a former president of the Maine Athletic Trainers’ Association and has held a variety of positions on boards and committees with EATA and NATA throughout his career.