{"id":63100,"date":"2024-11-07T08:35:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T13:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=63100"},"modified":"2024-11-14T11:10:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T16:10:25","slug":"the-call-to-serve-utc-grad-student-erin-lunt-blends-athletic-training-with-military-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/11\/the-call-to-serve-utc-grad-student-erin-lunt-blends-athletic-training-with-military-commitment\/","title":{"rendered":"The call to serve: UTC grad student Erin Lunt blends athletic training with military commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Erin

Erin Lunt at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia (left) and at Atlanta Falcons summer 2024 training camp. Photos courtesy of Erin Lunt.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a second-year graduate student in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s athletic training program, Erin Lunt not only helps keep student-athletes healthy but also serves her country as a first lieutenant in the Tennessee National Guard.<\/p>\n

For Lunt, service is a way of life\u2014whether on the sidelines working with the Mocs soccer team or in her line of duty as an ordnance officer with her maintenance platoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always loved being part of something bigger than myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lunt was raised both in an athletic training and military family\u2014hence, an upbringing inspired and steeped in service.<\/p>\n

Her father, Sam Lunt, served as an athletic trainer at Florida State University for 31 years before retiring in 2017.<\/p>\n

Her aunt, Col. Marsha Lunt, retired, and uncle, Lt. Col. Al Lunt, retired, both enjoyed distinguished careers in the U.S. Army. Marsha Lunt served 30 years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and Al Lunt was active-duty military for 25 years\u201416 in which he served in psychological operations positions or supported the PSYOP Regiment.<\/p>\n

Lunt\u2019s journey started in the Navy Junior ROTC program during her time at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to see if I could do it and if I could handle any form of discipline,\u201d she said, \u201cand I ended up really enjoying it. I loved the structure of the military.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting college paid for also helped, she said with a laugh, and she pursued a military path\u2014attending Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, on a full National Army ROTC Scholarship.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy aunt and uncle were super helpful and very supportive,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThey would tell me about their military experiences and what they did in order to succeed. They both had Army ROTC scholarships as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her May 2022 commissioning ceremony, which coincided with her graduation from Stetson, was quite the family affair; her uncle swore her in while her parents and aunt pinned her rank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole time she\u2019s known us, we have both been in the military, so she was aware that we traveled to different countries, had an opportunity to live in different places and received military and civilian schooling beyond our initial college experience. So I think that made her aware of opportunities that the military could provide her,\u201d said Marsha Lunt, who was one of the first women to graduate from the Army\u2019s Airborne School\u2014and later one of the first female commanders of a medical clearing company supporting an Infantry Division. After retiring from the military, she spent 15 years as the emergency manager for Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (now known as Fort Liberty).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe explained the difference between being an officer and an enlisted person. You have to have a college degree to be an officer, and there are different routes you can take for that. One of them is the ROTC, and they do provide scholarships \u2026 The idea of getting into a good university and having it fully funded through an ROTC scholarship was pretty enticing. My husband and I had both done that and when she looked into it, I think she realized that it was a pretty cool program and something she\u2019d like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scholarships, she said, are very competitive and aren\u2019t easy to come by.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t get those scholarships unless you can academically perform,\u201d Marsha Lunt continued, \u201cand then\u2014on the other hand\u2014you have to hold your own on the physical side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Col.

Col. Marsha Lunt, retired, 2nd Lt. Erin Lunt and Lt. Col. Alfred Lunt, retired, at Erin Lunt’s May 2022 commissioning ceremony. Photo courtesy of Marsha Lunt.<\/p><\/div>\n

After graduating from Stetson University with a bachelor\u2019s degree in health science and a minor in psychology, Lunt was commissioned into the Tennessee Army National Guard\u2014and spent her first year of service attending and graduating from the Ordnance Basic Officer Leader Course at the Army Logistics University at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. She came to UTC in June 2023 to begin pursuing her master\u2019s degree, with an expected graduation in May 2025.<\/p>\n

After initially planning to become a medical service officer in the Army, her path took a slight detour after learning about that military branch\u2019s need for ordnance officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that I really like working behind the scenes,\u201d she explained, \u201cand I was lucky enough that Tennessee had a vacancy for an ordnance officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the platoon leader of a maintenance platoon. Instead of athletes that we\u2019re taking care of, we\u2019re taking care of equipment and vehicles and working to get those things that are non-mission capable to a fully mission-capable status. It\u2019s similar to athletic training, which tries to get an injured athlete back to a healthy status and return to play.<\/p>\n

Her unit is stationed in Humboldt, Tennessee, approximately four hours northwest of Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne weekend a month and a couple of weeks in the summer, I\u2019m with my unit,\u201d she said. \u201cIf there\u2019s a natural disaster or state of emergency, there\u2019s the potential to be activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, she has not been called upon for additional duties, but she remains ready for deployment if needed.<\/p>\n

Inspired by her father\u2019s career, Lunt initially thought she wanted to go to medical school but discovered her passion lay in athletic training during her undergraduate days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just randomly got my work-study job in Stetson\u2019s sports medicine department,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAt first, it was like, \u2018This is kind of cool,\u2019 but soon I realized athletic training was everything I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up in a college campus community, Lunt said she had plenty of opportunities to observe her father in action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching my dad do evaluations was fascinating,\u201d she said. \u201cHe could poke around for a minute, ask a few questions and diagnose something like plantar fasciitis on the spot. It was so cool to see that kind of expertise, and it made me want to go into health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her father\u2019s influence extended beyond inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my parents dropped me off at UTC, he told me, \u2018Don\u2019t forget, you have a 24\/7 hotline if you need to talk about school or anything,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

UTC Assistant Professor and Athletic Training Clinical Education Coordinator Lynette Carlson lauded Lunt\u2019s work ethic and the types of experiences she has already been a part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cErin came in with a lot of real-world experience that lends itself to the service that we provide as athletic trainers,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cAny time students can bring with them real-world experience, it\u2019s always a plus for us\u2014and it\u2019s a plus for them. They can use their skills right away and shift them into athletic training skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what Erin brought in. She just had a really solid base of how to work with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson recalled that when Lunt first arrived at UTC, it overlapped with her military training.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a first-year student, the fall semester is so challenging; they\u2019re getting very important content at that time\u2014foundational content\u2014and she had to miss it. We had to work with her, but really \u2026 she did the work there,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cShe was at her summer camp doing her training\u2014and then at night, she would somehow be doing her studying. I don\u2019t know how she was able to work on this and arrange it, but she really exceeded our expectations and was caught up when she came back. It was rather impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Erin

Erin Lunt, a second-year graduate student in the UTC athletic training program, arrived on campus after being commissioned into the Tennessee National Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

This summer, Lunt was a sports medicine intern with the National Football League\u2019s Atlanta Falcons, an experience she describes as transformative.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing. The full-time staff were some of the greatest athletic trainers I\u2019ve ever worked with,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt welcomed and part of the team, not just like an intern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her days were long, sometimes starting at 6 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m., but Lunt embraced the grind.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite how long the hours were, there wasn\u2019t a single morning I woke up not excited to go to the facility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Working with professional athletes, she could have been star-struck.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Kirk Cousins walked into the room for the first time, I took a second and thought, \u2018This is a pretty important guy,\u2019\u201d she said when talking about the Falcons\u2019 star quarterback. \u201cBut for the most part, they were just people to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the beginning of training camp, the sports medicine interns were introduced to the team; the Falcons\u2019 director of sports medicine, Jake Pfeil, told the whole organization about Lunt\u2019s Army affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they found out I did weapons logistics, some of them were like, \u2018Oh, yeah. Don\u2019t mess with her,\u2019\u201d she recalled. \u201cI had a couple of players ask me about it and they found it fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lunt sees clear parallels between her two worlds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn both environments, you\u2019re making quick decisions under pressure,\u201d she said. \u201cIn athletic training, it\u2019s about determining if a player can go back in the game. In the Army, it\u2019s about getting vehicles repaired and ready for missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lunt took a moment when asked, \u201cWhat do you see yourself doing when you grow up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an excellent question. I\u2019m still trying to figure that out if I\u2019m being honest,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom the time that I was commissioned into the Army in May of 2022, I have eight years of service that I\u2019m obligated for\u2014and I have a little over five and a half years left. I\u2019m going to take my first eight years and then we\u2019re going to make more decisions when we get there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to see where I could go working in college athletics or potentially professional athletics. Obviously, I love my military career, and I would love to keep seeing where I\u2019m able to take that in the National Guard and what opportunities may pop up, like in the military athletic training setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to being part of a military family, Veterans Day holds special significance to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to take a step back and recognize the sacrifices others have made,\u201d Lunt said. \u201cThe military is its own way of life, and it\u2019s important to honor those who have given up so much to serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, I try to embody that spirit of service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erin Lunt\u2019s military service summary<\/h4>\n