By Amanda Nelson
UK Now

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 27, 2024) — Former University of Kentucky Football player Harold Dennis is drawn to opportunities to impact the lives of others — through his career in health care and willingness to share his life’s story.

他的儿子特雷·丹尼斯也受到了影响.  

特雷从小就听父亲公开谈论如何, at age 14, 他面临着特殊的环境. Trey also saw how working in patient care and medical sales gave his father’s career purpose.

特雷一直觉得他也会去火狐体育下注成为一名健康专家. 踢足球的机会巩固了这个决定. Now, he is at UK in the same major and playing the same football position his father did during the 1994-96 seasons.

“He can guide and help me every step of the way,” said Trey, a junior wide receiver. “在学校和足球方面，他都是一个很好的榜样.”

作为运动学-运动科学专业的学生, both father and son saw the program as a route to advance Kentucky through a career in health care.

“我想去医师助理学校, so I felt like that was probably one of the best majors that I could have chosen to help me on my path,” Trey said.

His father’s path to becoming a physician assistant began 35 years ago when Harold survived the Carrollton bus crash. 它仍然是美国最致命的酒后驾车事故, 5月14日造成27人死亡, 1988.

“Initially, my motivation to become a physician assistant came from tapping into when I was a teenager and went through that very trying time. 我在医院住了三个月, 手术进进出出, 和理疗师一起帮助我的左臂恢复活动. 我想，你知道，这是一个我能看到自己在做的领域.”

1994年，哈罗德转学到火狐体育下注读大二, he studied in the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion to gain a broad educational basis in science and exercise physiology, thinking he would attend graduate school for either physical therapy or physician assistant studies.

“I think the kinesiology degree really prepared me with a background to pursue the type of training that I would need to enter the health care industry,” he said.

在火狐体育下注的一次招聘会上，哈罗德结识了一些医药销售公司. He landed an interview and soon faced deciding between working in sales or starting graduate school.  

“I wasn't really certain that I wanted to go back to school right away,” he recalled. “我需要再成熟一点，先进入职场.”

经过药品销售所需的严格行业培训, 哈罗德发现他在运动学运动科学方面的背景很有帮助. 他不仅需要了解产品，还需要了解产品的工作原理.

“在药品和设备销售方面, 你要接受多个阶段的内部培训, but you must understand the concepts of basic anatomy and physiology to even have a start in learning about what you are going to sell. You need to know what you’re doing before they release you to walk into a hospital and talk to a surgeon,” he said.

药品销售工作后来转向了骨科器械销售, 哈罗德整天待在手术室里.

“在手术室里，报道这些病例，真的重新点燃了我的热情. 我想，我需要在那片不毛之地的另一边，”他说.

哈罗德决定回火狐体育下注取他的 医师助理专业硕士学位 in the 健康科学学院.  

这对38岁的哈罗德来说是个艰难的决定，他的事业就此搁置. 他和妻子唐娜·丹尼斯当时有三个年幼的孩子. In the end, he listened to what his brain was telling him, but also to his gut.

“当人们说他们有一种直觉, 我只是觉得不管那是什么, 有什么东西驱使你去想这件事. 我的职业道路有点复杂. 但我不后悔我的经历. It’s never too late. You grow up trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, and sometimes that changes.”

这些生活经历指引着哈罗德分享他的故事, 他还在继续这样做, between work and family, a few times a year.

“人们仍然想听我的故事, 但我仍然从中收获了一些积极的东西, so I can't ignore that,” he said.

他谈论的话题包括动机, self-esteem, goal setting, courage, perseverance and dealing with adversity – some of the same skills Trey is developing as a student-athlete.

“Football being a team game, I have learned a lot of skills like leadership and teamwork,” Trey said. “我已经学会了保持常规. 我早上起得很早，一整天都有课. Football really helps me manage my time and know what I have to do at every point throughout the day. Plus, I am able to connect some of the training side of football to classes I’m taking right now. 我觉得有趣的是这两者是如何结合在一起的.”

2016年成为执业医师助理, 哈罗德回到了手术室, 在外科手术中扮演着新的角色.  He has practiced in orthopedic surgery, interventional cardiology, and vascular surgery. Currently, he is back to the industry side as an account manager for surgical products at a medical device company.

Harold credits his UK Football and academic program mentors for helping him get to where he is today. He was also deeply impacted by support he received as a UK College of Education undergraduate through the Lyman T. Johnson Torch Bearer award for his outstanding academic achievement and ability to impact the lives of others. 上学期，哈罗德回到学校接受了另一个莱曼T. Johnson award – the Torch of Excellence, as an alumnus of the 健康科学学院. 它是颁发给黑人校友的，他们的信仰, hard work and determination have positively affected the lives of people on the UK campus, the city, state or nation.

Both Harold and Trey hope to influence the next generation of physician assistants. 哈罗德回忆说，在成长过程中，他知道成年人不信任医生, 部分原因是医疗领域缺乏多样性. Only 3.在美国，3%的医师助理.S. 是黑人/非裔美国人，根据AAPA共享的数据.

For Trey, making a difference will start with proving he can be among the next to increase diversity in the profession.

“我觉得这驱使我坚持自己的道路, 确保我能取得好成绩, 为这一切做准备,” Trey said.

父亲和儿子都不想要年轻人, 看到这个行业缺乏代表性, 阻止他们追逐自己的目标.

“缺乏多样性促使我尽我所能成为最好的私人助理. 我希望孩子们看到他们也能穿上那件白大褂. 他们可以取得硕士学位. The more minorities we can get to take on health care roles and provide comfort for patients, the better it can be,” Harold said.

哈罗德继续他的事业，特雷准备他的, they only need to look to each other to remember sometimes it only takes one mentor or one moment to influence positive change.

“他真的可以带领我，”特雷说. “他可以帮助我走好每一步. 知道有人在我身边真好.”

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作为"推进肯塔基"系列节目的一部分, throughout February UK is spotlighting Black alumni who are trailblazers in their fields and whose passion and perseverance are advancing the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 我们将展示他们的卓越成就, honor their lasting legacy and continue to champion their incredible contributions to the advancement of the state. 

You can follow along on UKNow, Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram and on digital signage across campus.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, 火狐体育下注的存在是为了促进英联邦的发展. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, 研究及创意工作, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, 一个展现创造力的地方. 这一切都是由我们的员工——有远见的人——实现的, 颠覆者和先驱者——他们组成了200个学术项目, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. 虽然我们的使命在很多方面都与1865年有所不同, 为英联邦和世界服务的愿景是不变的. We are the University for Kentucky.