Vicci Hill-Lombardi of Seton Hall’s M.S. in Athletic Training Recognized in NATA Leadership Feature

An athletic training educator points to Vicci Hill-Lombardi, Ed.D., ATC, chair of Seton Hall’s M.S. in Athletic Training program, as the mentor who shaped her career.

Tracye Rawls-Martin, M.S., LAT, ATC, an associate professor and athletic training program director, shared her reflections in a Black History Month leadership feature published by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).

“The course that resonated most deeply with me was Introduction to Athletic Training, taught by one of my mentors, Vicci Hill-Lombardi,” Rawls-Martin said in the article. “Her enthusiasm, understanding and compassion for the athletic training profession were — and still are — infectious.”

The feature appears on the NATA website. The Black History Month series highlights leaders across the profession and the experiences that shaped their professional values and careers.

Hill-Lombardi has served as a faculty member and department chair at Seton Hall for more than two decades. During that time, she has mentored more than 300 students in the M.S. in Athletic Training program and helped guide their professional development. She regularly collaborates with students on poster presentations at the NATA annual conference and contributes professional service through the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey.

Before moving into higher education, Hill-Lombardi worked as an athletic trainer in collegiate and high school athletics in New Jersey.

“I’m flattered but also humbled,” Hill-Lombardi said of Rawls-Martin’s comments. “Receiving this kind of recognition from someone I admire reminds me why I chose to go into higher education.”

Read the full feature on the NATA website.

Click here for more information about the M.S. in Athletic Training program.