After graduating from high school in 1984, I enrolled at Hope College. I was on the JV basketball team and after an intense career choice profile began the athletic training program in the spring of 1985. I was a student athletic trainer with the football, basketball, baseball, and field hockey teams. During the summer of 1987 I was chosen to serve as a student athletic trainer for the New England Patriots summer training camp. Following graduation, I was appointed to a one year position as an assistant athletic trainer for the 1988 season. After the season, I took a job with the Sports Medicine Department at Saint Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids. I also began graduate school in athletic training at Western Michigan University. I began my full time employment with the Patriots after finishing graduate school.

I met my wife, Stephanie, on a blind date and we were married a year and a half later in May, 1992. When I worked for the New England Patriots we lived in North Easton, Massachusetts with our son Hunter and daughter Rebecca. We enjoyed all of the outdoor activities that are available in the new England area, including camping, biking, hiking, and going to the ocean.

I went to Hope College without an idea of my career choice, but I knew that Hope was the place for me. This feeling was due to the people that I met there and the atmosphere they created. At Hope I was able to mature as an individual in a caring and helpful environment, along with obtaining an academic degree which competes with the larger colleges and universities. After I went through a career choice profile -- with the help of career counselors -- I was drawn to athletic training, largely because I found it personally rewarding and academically challenging. The athletic training program at Hope prepared me to work with athletes and athletic injuries at all levels of competition, and I would recommend the program to anyone without hesitation.

(Editor's Note: After a 12 year stint as the assistant athletic trainer with the New England Patriots of the National Football League, Kirk joined the Hope College athletic training faculty as an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Head Athletic Trainer in 2001.)