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Last August, Jenna Gardner arrived in SoCal from her native New Jersey poised to make her dreams of becoming an athletic trainer a reality. Having received a biology degree as an undergrad at Bryant University in Rhode Island, and subsequently taking a gap year, Gardner applied and got accepted to the highly respected Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program at Long Beach State. Since then, she has never looked back. 

In the fall, Gardner was awarded the New Student Diversity Award from the MSAT program’s accrediting body , which is a scholarship that is helping Gardner advance through the MSAT program, where she is currently getting hands-on experience developing her athletic training skills. As part of her clinical rotation this semester with Long Beach State Women’s Basketball, Gardner is getting a major glimpse inside her dream profession.  

“It has been an eventful start to my time here,” Gardner said. “The biggest thing I’ve learned so far with [LBSU Women’s Basketball] is working with the personnel – getting to know your players, so you have a better understanding of what they are going through, whether it’s physical or mental.”

Gardner says that she has always been drawn to wanting to pursue her graduate studies in California, specifically at Long Beach State, because of the exciting networking and career opportunities -- among other obvious reasons, including the great weather and picturesque SoCal beaches she can stroll along with her pet mini Bernedoodle – when she has time, that is. 

Since coming to The Beach, in addition to a full course load, Gardner has worked for different programs as part of her athletic training clinical rotations, including UCLA Recreational Sport, Cerritos College, and now with Long Beach State Women’s Basketball.

“I’ve got to say, Long Beach [State’s MSAT program] is of course the best program,” Gardner stated enthusiastically.  

Gardner cites the faculty in the MSAT program, including Profs. Mimi Nakajima, Portia Resnick and Karen Roos, as all having a major impact in creating a program that excels not only didactically, but also with having many options to choose from when it comes to the clinical side -- whether it’s placing students in high school, professional, community college, or D1 sports settings. Gardner says that athletic training professionals are even increasingly being seen in other fields besides sports, including first response units.  

“I think the success of our program here at Long Beach State is based off of who our professors are -- and not just who they are as people -- but who they are able to connect you with, and the sites that we get to be a part of. They put you into a good position to network and meet a lot of people and get a lot of hands-on experiences.”

Gardner, who has been an athlete herself as a softball player states, “I still have another year here at Long Beach State, and I’ll still be able to have two more clinical sites. I’m at Orange Coast College next…I would love to be a part of Olympic Softball in the future, or work with D1 softball. So, we’ll see where that goes.”

In the meantime, you can see Gardner on the court treating and caring for her players on LBSU women’s team for basketball, which is her other favorite sport in addition to softball. She also is a self-proclaimed Phillies and Eagles fan, being from the east coast.   

“The overall goal is that I want to help others, and help them through their progress and help them to reach their full potential, so I think that I am especially grateful to be here and getting my education for something I’ve always wanted to do.”

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