In 2022, Northern Valley collaborated with Bergen County Technical Schools to introduce a Sports Medicine and Exercise Science program at Bergen County Institutes for Science and Technology. 

Throughout the program, students take college-level courses and apply their skills through specialized labs to prepare for careers in athletic training, physical therapy, and other medical fields. Students can choose to apply for the program as middle schoolers, and applicants from all across Bergen County are admitted to attend high school at either Northern Valley Demarest or Northern Valley Old Tappan.

This June marks a special milestone for the institute as the first class of seniors will be graduating from the program.

Grace Urena, an out-of-district senior from New Milford, reflects fondly on the relationships she’s formed with her classmates over the last four years.

“My favorite part about the program was the sense of community. Since there are only thirteen kids in our class, it felt like we were all bonded, and we got very close by our senior year,” Urena said. 

However, Urena acknowledges that the initial adjustment to a brand new school was difficult, especially because she doesn’t live within the seven Northern Valley towns.

“The thing I disliked the most, honestly, was the beginning of the program, and the adjustment that had to be made coming into a new school, along with being introduced to topics you’ve never really heard about before,” Urena said.

Looking back at her experience, Urena advises younger students to have hope and stay resilient, even if their start to high school isn’t perfect.

“Some advice that I have for the underclassmen, especially the ones who are incoming or current freshmen, is that everything will get better, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Specifically for those coming from out of district, I want them to know that even if they feel lost, they will eventually adjust, find their people, and learn to enjoy their years in the program,” Urena said.

After graduation, Urena will continue studying medicine at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she received a full scholarship for a five-year accelerated physician assistant program.

“I’ll be attending RIT for their accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s degree program to become a physician assistant. With this program, I’ll be able to complete both my undergraduate and graduate education in only five years, so I will begin working as a physician assistant at the age of twenty-three,” Urena said.

In contrast, Sayan Mitra, an in-district student from Haworth, will be majoring in Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Although he will be pursuing a career outside of sports medicine and exercise science, he is grateful for his experiences and believes that taking the program’s courses helped him find his calling.

“Sports medicine has honestly helped me in a big way. I learned within the first three months of class that fourteen was too young to decide what I wanted to do [for] the rest of my life and that my future was going to be nowhere near sports medicine. However, it led me to take classes that genuinely interested me. The program helped me understand what I really wanted to do when I got to college, and I am happy I learned this now instead of later on,” Mitra said.

Even though Mitra wasn’t as interested in the program’s coursework as his peers, he still has memories from the class that he cherishes.

“I disliked learning about anatomy and physiology, but I liked the cultural food parties and the study class periods because I got to bond with my classmates,” Mitra said.

As the first graduating class, Mitra and his fellow seniors only learned from one teacher, Laura Pinkman, throughout all four years. Another teacher, Dana Matos, has joined the program since, but with only two teachers leading the program, Mitra recommends building a strong relationship with them.

“Try to be on your teachers’ good side. You’re gonna be with them for a few years,” Mitra said.

Another out-of-district senior from Cresskill, Brianna Fawcett, has also learned many lessons from studying at the institute.

“By being in this class and doing labs on patient care, I got to explore numerous different medical fields, and I realized how much I wanted to help patients in the future. I also learned the importance of relationships, as I have formed many great friendships with my classmates that I am so grateful for,” Fawcett said.

Fawcett’s most memorable moment from the last four years was when the class took a field trip to Virginia to watch open-heart surgery.

“It was really interesting to see the process and witness how the heart fully stopped beating and was essentially brought back to life. It was really cool having the perspective of being above the surgery, looking into it from an aerial view as if we were in the surgery room,” Fawcett said.

As a result of studying sports medicine and exercise science, Fawcett realized that she wants to continue pursuing a career in medicine, but in a slightly different subfield. Similar to Urena, Fawcett recently committed to Rutgers University for an accelerated PharmD program, where she will earn her Bachelor’s and Doctorate degree within six years.

“My future plans are to become a pharmacist. I think this class helped me get the foundational knowledge on anatomy and different injuries that I can apply to my field,” Fawcett said.

Fawcett admits that the program was difficult at times, due to the rigorous coursework that builds on each previous year. However, she emphasizes that the work ethic and dedication she and her classmates developed will serve them well.

“My advice for the underclassmen is that the information you will learn from the beginning will be important, especially because you will have to apply it throughout your four years. Really try to embrace the experience, though, because it can be a very helpful preview if you decide to work in medicine in the future,” Fawcett said.