(This story first published on gamecocksonline.com)
Brittiny (Rhoades) Traynor used to be known for helping South Carolina women's soccer post shutouts and reach the NCAA Tournament. Now, the former Gamecock defender (2007-2010) is helping others as an emergency room nurse in Newberry, South Carolina.
"I just like helping people," said Traynor, who works in the emergency room at the Newberry Health Hospital after previously working as a trauma nurse at Prisma Health. "It's hard for people to come to the hospital sometimes. It takes a lot of courage to walk in that front door. Maybe it's because of some of the things that happened to me in the past or things that have happened to family members, but I like being the person that helps them understand that they did the right thing by coming here."
Traynor was a stalwart defender and earned SEC All-Freshman Team and Freshman All-American honors in 2007 and later capped her career by earning First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-Region accolades following her senior season in 2010. She also helped the Gamecocks reach the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons. After earning her degree, Traynor made an important decision to pivot from her comfort zone.
"When I first graduated, I felt like everyone wanted me to continue on and get a master's or a doctorate," said Traynor, who graduated with a degree in clinical psychology and transitioned that into a nursing career. "I called my aunt, who is a retired pediatric ICU nurse, and she told me how it sounded like I wanted to be really hands-on with people, but that I didn't know how to get there. She encouraged me to shadow a friend that is a nurse."
She contacted former Gamecock Lindsay Small, who had graduated a year earlier and was an ICU nurse, to ask about the profession. She also found a friend of the family near her hometown who held a similar position, and those conversations led her to decide to go to nursing school and put her on her current path.
"My original job was in a cardiovascular ICU where they did open heart surgeries, and I got a really good base underneath me," Traynor said. "Then I turned that into working in a critical care float pool as an emergency room nurse and trauma nurse. I do some work with mental health patients, but in a different capacity."
"South Carolina definitely laid the foundation for everything for me."
- Brittiny (Rhoades) Traynor
She is married to former South Carolina men's soccer standout Will Traynor and said her experience as a student-athlete helped create a foundation for her professional life.
"Being a student-athlete is hard work," Traynor said. "You have to show up every day for your teammates and for yourself. You have to show up in academics and athletics. I'll admit that I wasn't always the best student. My coaches helped guide me to the end. At South Carolina, you have people to lean on that really care about you. They get you to the place that you need to be. South Carolina definitely laid the foundation for everything for me. In nursing, you have to show up on time. You have to be there for your patients like you were for your teammates.
"You don't realize how much sports give you compared to people that don't play them until you run into situations at work or in your personal life, and you revert back to that teammate mindset.
"Some people have horrible stories with healthcare. We're supposed to be able to help each other get better so they can stay out of the hospital and be healthy. You always have to give one hundred percent because that's what the person sitting across from you in the bed needs from you. Sometimes it's not enough, and that can be the hardest part – not always being able to save people. It can also be satisfying when they or a family member just thank you for helping them make their journey easier."
Traynor draws on the experience of seeing her father go through some chaotic times when she was growing up after he had suffered some serious health issues.
"You don't want to be someone that adds to the problem," Traynor said. "You want to help chip away at it."
Traynor has been good at making adjustments, starting with her decision to come to South Carolina. Growing up in Wilmington, Delaware, Traynor said she didn't know a lot about the SEC until she received a letter from South Carolina and decided to check it out.
"I called a friend who lived in North Carolina, and told him I received a letter from South Carolina," Traynor said. "He said, 'oh my gosh. That's in the SEC. That's big time! You should give them a visit.' I came and it just felt like home. My dad had told me I needed to go somewhere that even if I had an injury and couldn't play soccer that I'd still want to be. I decided I could see myself there."
Her collegiate career saw a lot of individual and team success, including winning the program's first SEC Tournament Championship in 2009, which reinforced why she couldn't see herself anywhere else.
"Winning the SEC for the first time was really awesome, but I think it's the bonds that I had with the girls I played with that are my best memories," Traynor said. "I look back at those road trips and the silly things we did, and I just laugh. I still communicate with a lot of my teammates."
The Traynors live in Leesville, South Carolina, with their four-year-old son, Luke.
