Ben Siegfried '22, M'23 passed away suddenly on March 10, 2023, at 22, from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. Ben was passionate, hard-working, and determined for success. He always had a smile on his face and his accepting, supportive personality left a positive mark on everyone he met. As an athletic training student, he provided the utmost care to every athlete and had the opportunity to work with various sports at clinical sites including Milton Hershey MS, LVC, Cedar Crest HS, and the XFL with the St. Louis Battlehawks and DC Defenders. Outside of the classroom, Ben showed his love for football by playing all five seasons of his LVC career and was named to the MAC Academic Honor Roll. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Ben received the Unsung Hero award from his coaches and teammates. This award is typically given to the player that exhibited outstanding character on and off the field, a fierce work ethic and is an exemplary teammate. His successes inside and outside the classroom will always inspire the LVC Athletic Training department, student-athletes, and the Lebanon Valley College community.
Funds raised in Ben’s memory will support a second-year Athletic Training graduate student to provide financial assistance in pursuing their clinical experience.
Our second recipient of The Benjamin Siegfried '22, M'23 Memorial Award is Lydia Haggy ‘24, M’25. Before receiving the funding, Lydia completed a clinical rotation with LVC Football's athletic trainer, Chuck Yasinski, during the 2024 season. Lydia describes the impact of the scholarship and what it means to #BeLikeBen below:
Q: Where can we find you now?
A: “I just started my job at Louisburg College, a junior college in Louisburg, NC. We have twelve sports. I’m helping cover football, volleyball, and cross country in the fall, and I will work with the women’s basketball and softball teams during their seasons.”
Q: Tell us about the clinical experience that the scholarship funds allowed you to pursue:
A: “I completed a clinical rotation at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. It was different than any of the traditional sites I’d been to. I worked with different service members - Marines and Coast Guard - in a clinic setting. We had a diverse population of patients, ranging from 18-year-olds who had just completed basic training to career service members. They would make appointments for injury evaluations and rehab sessions throughout the day. So it was very unique. We focused on doing detailed evaluations and through rehabilitation programs.”
Q: How did spending an immersive semester-long rotation at that clinical site impact you? As a person, and as an AT?
A: “I grew a lot in my confidence as an independent clinician thanks to the one-on-one interactions with patients. I was able to focus on my clinical evaluations, taking them more slowly and refining my processes, which really helped me improve in that area. I gained a lot of confidence in my clinical skills and decision-making abilities. We got to see so many pathologies, so in terms of my rehab skills - implementing and progressing programs in every situation - I grew a lot in those areas.”
Q: How did this experience provide you with the opportunity to “Be Like Ben”? How do you continue to embrace these traits as a young clinician?
A: “Before going to Camp Lejeune, I was fortunate enough to complete a clinical rotation with Chuck and the LVC Football team. In addition to hearing about Ben from our professors, I learned a great deal about who Ben was by being around the football team, where I heard about his leadership abilities and how kind and caring he was towards all his teammates. When I asked about Ben, Chuck would say that he was always in the clinic, checking in on his teammates, seeing if everyone was OK, and wanting to learn more. He asked the ATs about what they were doing so he could learn and grow his own skillset. I learned that Ben truly cared about the people around him, and he wanted to keep improving so he could help those people even more. So my mindset became, ‘How can I learn more here? What can I learn here that I can’t learn anywhere else? How can I show these people that I care and that I want them to get better?’ I strived to build relationships so patients knew that I was there for them, that I was listening and hearing them, that I cared for them, and that we were going to come up with a plan to help them get
better. Day in and day out, I worked to accomplish these things at my clinical site, and I continue to do so now.”
Q: Why is carrying on Ben’s legacy important to you?
A: “We get into this profession because we care about people, because we want to show them that we care, and because we want to help them get better. And from everything I’ve heard, that’s the heart of who Ben was. When I hear ‘Be Like Ben,’ I think about kindness, compassion, caring, and a desire to learn. So, going into work every day, I ask myself, ‘How can I bring kindness into work? How can I show patients that I care about them as people, that I want them to feel seen and heard?’ And with that, I want to keep growing and learning. I want to give my patients everything I have, and then learn more so I can help them more. From everything I’ve learned about Ben, I think that’s the best way to carry on his legacy.”
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Please consider contributing to this fund so that students like Lydia may continue to pursue these life-changing experiences while carrying the #BeLikeBen message and values forward.
Funds raised in Ben’s memory will be awarded to deserving recipients who embody Ben’s spirit.
Each award provides financial assistance with room and board, allowing recipients to pursue immersive clinical rotations at distant sites without excessive financial burden.
392 days ago by Jayanne SevastWe are pleased to share a Q&A with the inaugural Benjamin Siegfried '22, M'23 Memorial Award recipient, Garrett Becker ‘23, M’24. Garrett and Ben were teammates on the LVC Football defensive line for four years. Additionally, Garrett was Ben’s mentee in the LVC Athletic Training Program.
Garrett describes his relationship with Ben and the impact of the award funds below:
Q: Where can we find you now?
A: “I work at Susquehanna University. I am the athletic trainer for men’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, and volleyball, as well as swimming and diving.”
Q: Tell us about the clinical experience that the funds allowed you to pursue:
A: “In the spring of 2024, I went to work at the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida. The entire organization starts the year there, from the major league all the way down. I worked with everyone from the Complex League up to AAA. When spring training was over, I continued to work with the Complex League team and with other athletes attending camps at the complex.”
Q: How did spending an immersive semester-long rotation at that clinical site impact you? As a person, and as an AT?
A: “I was able to try out the professional athletics setting, which is an opportunity that is not available at many clinical sites. I got to see high-level athletic trainers, physicians, physical therapists, and strength & conditioning specialists working in the same room, sitting beside one another, communicating and collaborating to determine how to help each athlete. This experience is something that I am bringing with me into my career. These professionals gave me examples to work off of and make myself a better athletic trainer overall.
Personally, this clinical rotation was a growing experience as I learned how to live in the real world on my own. I had to make a budget and live only off that amount for a few months. I got to see how I react in various situations, and I feel like I grew through that and learned to enjoy that piece.”
Q: How did this experience provide you with the opportunity to “Be Like Ben”?
A: “Ben was a mentor for the entire time I was in college. From my four years of playing football, having him as my teammate and A.T. mentor, I know that he was always a hard worker and took great joy and pride in his work. He worked to be the greatest football player he could be.
He always had a smile on his face. When I went to Florida, I came in with the mindset of working hard and enjoying every single day. I went in with a smile on my face, able to express myself and have pride in what I was doing. When I looked around in the professional setting, I noticed that many of the people I worked with were remarkably similar. Ben definitely had the mindset he would need to work in the professional setting.”
Q: How do you embrace these traits as a young clinician?
A: “Coming into Susquehanna, I brought those key pieces of working hard and always being happy. I try to keep the work experience enjoyable. Additionally, knowing that I don’t know everything, I need to keep working hard and getting better. I try to push myself and everybody to keep growing. It’s something that we did in Florida and something we talked about on the football team - ‘The one below pushes the one above.’ You’re not just improving yourself, but
you’re improving the whole group. I try to bring all of these things to my job at Susquehanna.”
Q: Is there anything else about Ben’s legacy that stands out to you?
A: “Our defensive line coach always tells the story of Ben coming onto the team as a freshman. Ben knew that he was NOT in college football shape, and he had to work hard to find the field on Saturdays. He made incredible lifestyle changes and pushed himself to become a starting defensive lineman, a rock on the defense. He went from a guy who was just an average - or maybe even below average - collegiate athlete to being one of the pillars of the team. I feel like he was doing the same thing, continuing that mindset from football to athletic training. Those two sides (football and athletic training) tend to be separated sometimes, but I don’t think they need to be. That’s just how he was as a person. That’s something that really stands out.”
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Please consider contributing to this fund so that students like Garrett may continue to pursue these life-changing experiences while carrying the #BeLikeBen message and values forward.
Funds raised in Ben’s memory will be awarded to deserving recipients who embody Ben’s spirit. Each award provides financial assistance with room and board, enabling recipients to pursue immersive clinical rotations at distant sites without incurring an excessive financial burden.
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