Sarah Merkel '09 is California HS' First-Ever Athletic Trainer

September 6, 2011

September 6, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "I'm thrilled that Sarah's here. I'm thrilled that we were able to make this possible," says Robert Jordan, president and CEO of California's Justin-Siena High School, which has hired 2009 DePauw University graduate Sarah Merkel as its first-ever athletic trainer. Merkel has spent the last two years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

"Merkel is also teaching a section of health for freshmen, as the school is looking to develop a sports medicine class as an elective for upper division students in the future," reports the Napa Valley Register.

"Merkel played basketball for DePauw University and was a member of the Tigers' NCAA Division III national championship team during the 2006-07 season," writes Marty James. A kinesiology major at DePauw, she "first became interested in athletic training and physical therapy when, as a center on her Reitz Memorial High School girls basketball team in Evansville, Ind., she needed to have surgery on both legs for injuries. Fortunately, she recovered quickly and was able to play her junior year for the Tigers."

"I got introduced to the world of physical therapy to see what they do not only with athletes, but all individuals and helping them return to their activities of daily living," Merkel tells the newspaper.

You'll find the complete article -- headlined "DePauw University graduate is Braves’ first-ever athletic trainer" -- at the Register's website.

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