Daisha (Acorda) Harryman, MS, ATC is in her first year as an assistant athletic trainer on the Willamette University Sports Medicine staff in 2022-23. Harryman previously worked with the Bearcat football team as an athletic trainer in 2018 and provided evaluations, treatment and rehabilitation in the Burr Treatment Center at Willamette in the spring 2019 while completing a master's degree at Pacific University.

Harryman will begin working on the Willamette campus on August 1. She most recently served as an assistant athletic trainer at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, starting in December of 2020.

"I am so grateful and so excited to be back!" Harryman said about returning to Willamette. "Ever since my time here and starting at PLU, I have always kept in touch with athletic trainers Ken Smith, Dylan Borden, and Kayla Smith as they have always been mentors to me. I really enjoyed my time at Willamette and have always hoped to work in a similar culture after I graduated. Once the opportunity to work at Willamette was presented, I leaped at the chance to apply because I knew it was a great fit for me professionally and personally as my husband is from Keizer. We have both wanted to settle down in the area for a long time to be closer to family and friends."

Harryman first gained a passion for athletic training while attending Oregon Institute of Technology as an undergraduate student. "I was a four-year collegiate soccer player and I worked in the athletic training room throughout my time there," Harryman explained."

While at OIT, Harryman earned a bachelor's degree in Population Health Management in 2017. She followed up by working toward a master's degree in Athletic Training, which she received from Pacific University in 2019.

As a graduated student, "I had the opportunity to learn in various levels of athletics, including Sunset High School, Portland State University, Corban University, and Willamette University," Harryman commented. Following graduation at Pacific, Harryman was hired at ATI Physical Therapy, where she worked within the physical therapy clinic and served as the athletic trainer for Clover Park High School in Lakewood, Washington.

The COVID-19 pandemic cut short her work at ATI Physical Therapy, but she was able to join Pacific Lutheran as an assistant athletic trainer.

"Throughout my impactful year and a half at PLU, I really got to know the athletes there and their goals within their sport and outside of athletics while they were recovering from injuries," Harryman recalled. "That was when I learned about D3 athletes (Willamette, Pacific, and Pacific Lutheran all compete in NCAA Division III and the Northwest Conference). D3 student-athletes are focused and motivated not only in their sport but in school as well. As staff members, we want to see them succeed in more than just athletics but in life as well."

Harryman has supplemented her athletic training experience by working with Special Olympics Oregon and the USA Basketball Nike Hoop Summit. She is an active member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA).

As a former collegiate student-athlete, Harryman possesses great skill at being able to understand and relate to college athletes who suffer injuries and must battle back through treatment and rehabilitation.

"Professionalism, dependability, and interpersonal skills are my strengths, and my experience as a previous athlete gives me insight into the psychosocial and physical needs of athletes recovering from an injury," Harryman said. "I have become very empathetic and understanding of athletes as they recover from injuries because the mental side of it can be difficult. However, I am able to reassure the athlete and push them to recover better than they were before the injury. Throughout the process, I feel that I gain the athlete's trust and connect with them. They can voice their concerns to me and work through it. The best part about being an athletic trainer is getting to know each athlete and helping the athlete return to sport and succeed after their injuries."