Dozens of student-athletes spend time in the training room at the Recreation Fitness Center each day, for icing, taping, stretching and other forms of treatment, but a few students are there to give more than they receive. They are trainers in the making.

These student trainers, who often have majors in kinesiology or exercise science, work in the training room under the supervision of Jaelyn Rufenacht, the head athletic trainer.

Rufenacht said, “The value of a student trainer is that they can gain hands-on experience and help with the day-to-day duties of the athletic training room.”

She added, “They are able to witness injuries, see the evaluation, treatments and eventual return to play of the athletes. They are able to store this experience away to benefit them later in grad school or when they have jobs.”

Anthony Roberts, a senior exercise major, works flexibly for retired seniors. He said, “Right now, I train senior-level clients, and I train one middle-aged lady… One gentleman is retired and the working-class lady works long hours, so I utilize a lot of flexibility between the two of them as their schedules are much different.”

Rufenacht knows firsthand the value of mentors and firsthand experience in sports medicine  from her time at Hesston College, where she studied and belonged to the women’s softball team.

“I wanted to be an athletic trainer because I had a really good one at my junior college,” Rufenacht said. “I learned about the profession from her and decided to pursue a career in it. I loved the idea of working with athletes, getting to stay near sports.”

After graduating with a degree from Goshen College, Rufenacht attended graduate school in Indianapolis. While completing graduate school, she spent time at eight clinical sites learning from preceptors.

After graduating, she took a job at Beacon Health System in South Bend.

“From there I was placed at GC and spent two years as the assistant athletic trainer here,” she said. “Then in 2022 the head job opened up and I applied. I have been the head athletic trainer since then.”

Roberts spends countless hours learning injury prevention and treatment techniques in his classes. However, the true learning only begins when they step out of the classroom and into the lives of the people they support.

At GC, athletic training is a vocation. For student trainers, their education is rooted in genuine relationships with teammates, coaches and the Goshen community. GC has long placed great emphasis on service, community engagement and experiential learning.

The Student Trainer Program perfectly embodies this ethos. Students not only gain the clinical experience required for certification, but they do so within an environment rooted in compassion and connection. Through internships, they contribute even more to the wider community. The athletic training program at GC is not just about building a resume.

It is a place to develop leaders with a spirit of service, where students learn not only to care for others but to show compassion.  Understanding the breadth of responsibilities involved reveals the true importance of this profession.