Lotter Comes ‘Home’ to Piedmont as Assistant Athletic Trainer

Gabriella “Gabby” Lotter joined the Piedmont University athletic training staff as an assistant athletic trainer in January.

While a graduate student, Lotter was an athletic trainer with the softball program, which brought home the 2022 USA South tournament championship. Lotter’s role included evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation. 

Lotter’s next step was interning with the Nicholls State University Division I athletic program in Louisiana for six months. Now, she is back at Piedmont as the athletic trainer for the university’s men’s soccer, baseball, and basketball teams and track throwers. She covers practice and games, provides emergency care and first aid, and creates rehabilitation plans.

“It has been awesome going from being a student to an employee at Piedmont. I love giving back to the programs that built me into the person I am today,” Lotter said. “At first, I was fearful my coworkers would not take me seriously or still view or treat me as a student, but, if anything, it has been such a blessing getting to work with people I already had a strong relationship with as a student.”

Lotter said those relationships have “only continued to grow and flourish” now that she is an employee. 

“Piedmont athletics feels like home. I am surrounded by a great group of people who support and encourage me and help me in any way they can. It truly is such a special place to work,” Lotter said. 

As a four-year women's soccer team member at Piedmont, Lotter helped lead the Lady Lions to two USA South Championships during her career. She provided the assist on the game-winning goal in the 2018 USA South Championship and was a two-time USA South All-Academic team member. Lotter was also a team captain in 2020 and was a student assistant coach in the 2021 season.

Lotter also suffered her fair share of injuries. That inspired her to pursue athletic training. 

“After I tore my ACL and was doing physical therapy, I knew I wanted to do something in a similar field to help athletes get back to their sport and encourage them along the way,” Lotter said. 

Lotter earned two degrees at Piedmont: a bachelor of science in exercise and sports science in 2019 and a master of science in athletic training in 2022.

“Piedmont has an excellent athletic training program. The program is extremely competitive with other athletic training programs at other institutions,” Lotter said. “What makes Piedmont special is the class sizes and student-to-professor ratio, allowing for more one-on-one opportunities to ask more questions. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in athletic training or a similar profession.” 

Lotter is a certified and licensed athletic trainer. She is also a National Athletic Trainers' Association member and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. 

For more information about Piedmont University’s athletic training program, including the 3+2 master’s degree option, visit piedmont.edu/program/athletic-training/.