April 22, 2026 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu

Whether treating injuries or preventing them, Zdenka Horwath spent a lot of time in the athletic trainer’s room during high school – so much so that the athletic trainer, who was also her health teacher, pulled her aside one day. 

“She told me I should consider athletic training as a career,” Horwath says. “She even convinced my soccer coach to support me in becoming a student athletic training aide, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.” 

Horwath studied exercise and sports science as an undergrad at Texas State University, San Marcos – just an hour Northeast of her San Antonio hometown. She graduated in three years and then stayed on in the Department of Health and Human Performance to complete an M.S. in Athletic Training, gaining research experience and clinical training with track and field, cheer, and other collegiate sports. She also provided athletic training services for the professional soccer team, Austin FC II, and spent a summer with Charlotte Eagles Football Club. 

As Horwath approached graduation, one of her professors – an Arnold School alum – recommended that she take a look at the new certificate of graduate study options offered by the Department of Exercise Science’s Athletic Training Program at USC. She enrolled in the one-year Critical Incident Management & Primary Care in Athletic Training program last summer and has continued to expand her expertise by serving as a graduate teaching assistant for the master’s program here as well as through a graduate assistant athletic trainer position with campus recreation. 

“My certificate has helped me grow confident in managing all kinds of emergency conditions and allowed me to expand on so many traumatic and environmental conditions that we don’t get to study in detail during school,” Horwath says. “With this knowledge, I can build policies and emergency action plans, and I feel stronger in my ability to treat our patients who come in with more complex, general or emergent conditions while also collaborating with other health care providers in different disciplines to manage their care.”

She found a mentor in Zachary Winkelmann, who serves as both the director of clinical education and the director for post-professional programs.

“From the moment I landed in Columbia, Dr. Winkelmann has been the biggest advocate for me as a professional, as a student and just as a person as a whole,” Horwath says. “He has pushed me and provided me with so much insight, opportunities and goals to help me be a better health care provider and go above and beyond what is asked of me.”

Associate professor Susan Yeargin played an influential role during her program.

“Dr. Yeargin has led a lot of my coursework and instilled foundational concepts in traumatic and environmental injuries with her research and background in these concepts,” Horwath. “She sets up classes and assignments to take my knowledge and apply it in real-life scenarios and  provided resources to keep as references in my future practice.”

Living downtown in the state’s capital city has also been a highlight. She’s loved the walkability to discover different coffee shops and access the riverwalk and parks – giving a big city the feeling of a small town. Professional connections, networking opportunities and lifelong friendships also stand out as important parts of her experience. She advises future students to embrace these opportunities by stepping out of their comfort zones. 

“Make yourself known to as many faculty and staff as you can and make connections,” Horwath says. “You are surrounded by so many resources and people full of knowledge and experience that is valuable to carry on in your career by people who have lived it. Take advantage of all that USC has to offer to you as a student.”

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