Las Vegas, NM --- A decade can fly by. Just ask New Mexico Highlands University Head Athletic Trainer
Yvette Pomponi.
"It's crazy how fast it has gone," said Pomponi recently as she reflected on her time at NMHU, "I sat here the other day thinking it's been ten years, wow." Pomponi, who joined the HU staff in July of 2011 will leave the school almost ten years to the day after her arrival to accept a position in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
For Pomponi, a native of Albuquerque and graduate of the University of New Mexico it's a chance to get back home and be closer to friends and family. "I never thought I'd be at Highlands and once I got here I never expected to stay ten years." Pomponi was recruited to the HU campus by fellow UNM graduate and former Highlands Athletic Director Ed Manzanares. The two knew each other in school and would cross paths occasionally while Pomponi worked as an Athletic Trainer at St. Pius High School. "Ed kept telling me come to Vegas, I need help in the Training Room," said Pomponi. After an 18-year stint as the Head Athletic Trainer at St. Pius and a year away from a training room, Pomponi agreed to an interview.
"I missed being in a training room, missed being around athletes and figured Ed would at least buy me lunch," said Pomponi laughing at the recollection. That lunch turned into a decade of service to the athletic teams at NMHU.
During her time leading the HU Athletic Training Room, Pomponi oversaw and implemented major upgrades and changes. "When I got here there were just two athletic trainers and there weren't enough hours in the day to handle everyone who needed our help," noted Pomponi. HU Sports Medicine now has four full-time certified athletic trainers on staff thanks to Pomponi's push to increase staffing. Another major change has been the upgrade to electronic records and the integration of the online ATS system for processing student-athlete information. Long gone are the six file cabinets that used to compete with the staff for cramped office space.
HU Athletic Director
Andrew Ehling remarked recently on Pomponi's efforts at the school. "This is certainly bittersweet. Yvette has had a tremendous impact on Highlands and its people, but the opportunity to move closer to family and friends is never a bad move." Ehling, who came to Highlands just as Covid-19 began to shut down collegiate athletic programs in 2020, also praised Pomponi for her efforts in dealing with the pandemic as student-athletes returned to campus. "Yvette was front and center in our planning and actions," noted Ehling.
Asked about the effect of Covid-19 and the past year-and-a-half, Pomponi shakes her head ruefully. "The toughest year ever," she said. Pomponi served on advisory groups on the HU campus, within the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and nationally during the pandemic while organizing campus testing, travel protocols and eventual vaccination efforts for student-athletes and staff.
Although the past year has taken a toll, Pomponi was also quick to smile as she looked back on her years at Highlands. "It's been challenging, frustrating and rewarding all rolled into one," and, while Pomponi has worked with many championship teams and individual national champions, she was quick to point out that "Watching student-athletes grow and succeed as young men and women beyond athletics is the most rewarding part of this job," reeling off names of former HU athletes who still keep in touch.
Taking a break from packing up her office—a space crammed with boxes of tape and medical devices as well as photos and memories—Pomponi smiled, "I've had the best seat in the house for ten years."
