For nearly four decades, Steve Nemes served as Muhlenberg’s Head Athletic Trainer. With Nemes retiring at the conclusion of 2020, Lindsay Porembo was selected to be his successor, following a nationwide search. Porembo, having joined the Muhlenberg Sports Medicine staff in 2001, has served as Associate Athletic Trainer since 2012, in which she reported directly to Nemes.
“Steve and I are the best of friends. When I started at Muhlenberg I was only one year out of college, eager to learn, and ready to hit the ground running,” said Porembo. “There were only two athletic trainers when I started so we had a lot of work to do covering everything, that quite honestly, I don’t even know how we did it looking back.” She went on to speak highly of her predecessor, adding, “Steve was hands down the best person you could work for and with.”
Porembo admitted that she expects her new position to be challenging. “I’ve learned you can’t and won’t make everyone happy, which is super hard for me as a people pleaser, but oh so true. You can only do the best for the situation with the hand you’re dealt” she said.
Despite the new set of challenges that she is set to face, the guidance of her mentor will forever be with her. In fact, while reflecting on her most memorable lesson from Nemes over the years, she said, “Steve is a very special person that has taught me a great deal that I find it hard to narrow it down, but after almost 20 years, he has definitely impacted who I am today.”
Although Porembo is taking on the crucial role of Head Athletic Trainer, she still plans to maintain her other roles within the Muhlenberg Sports Department, such as being the Scheduling Coordinator for varsity sports. While handling multiple roles at once may sound like an arduous task, Porembo believes that she will succeed because of the immense preparation she has had for this particular moment. “In ways, I have been acting in this role for a while, just on a smaller scale as the Associate A.T., due to the influx of everything going on in the world of college athletics and sports medicine,” she said. “I believe being the department Scheduling Coordinator for a number of years, in some ways, has helped me be able to organize and prepare myself for constant changes and multitasking,” she stated. Porembo trusts that the support system of the Muhlenberg Athletic Department will continue to guide her, as they always have, ever since she arrived at Muhlenberg a decade ago. Porembo divulged that Nemes, who held the job for almost forty years, had only a few words of encouragement. With a chuckle, but obvious sincerity, he said to her, “Good luck!” And while you might expect more than that, Porembo knows that Nemes is always there for her, saying “No one is more in my corner than him.” Stepping into this role, Porembo knows that she must remain confident in her skills and continue to make “our Sports Medicine department top notch.”
