As Jamestown Public Schools’ full-time athletic trainer, 2016 Jamestown High School graduate Dr. Keiona Nance has spent the past two years caring for student-athletes, monitoring injuries, and helping them stay game-ready.

At 3 p.m., when most Jamestown Public Schools employees are wrapping up their work day, Dr. Keiona Nance is just beginning hers.

As the district’s full-time athletic trainer, her busiest hours unfold after school, when dozens of student-athletes rely on her care, guidance, and expertise.

“As an athletic trainer, what we focus on primarily is musculoskeletal conditions,” Nance explained. “That’s what we’re really here to address. We can treat some things in-house with therapy and therapeutic modalities, but other conditions need to be referred out, whether that be for surgery or for diagnostics.”

It’s a career she didn’t anticipate pursuing when she graduated from Jamestown High School in 2016, but it’s one she’s found a passion for. And it’s a daily grind that she loves. Entering her fourth season as the district’s athletic trainer, she’s grateful for the opportunity to give back to the students at her alma mater and in her community.

“When I first went off to college, I was originally intending to go into physical therapy, but I soon realized, after taking an introduction to athletic training course, that athletic training was more what I was interested in,” said Nance, who herself had been a student-athlete on the JHS tennis and track and field teams.

That course prompted her to change her major. Nance then was accepted into the 3+2 program at the University at Buffalo, which allowed her to earn her undergraduate degree in exercise science and master’s degree in athletic training from UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions. During that time, her rotations gave her the chance to work with both collegiate teams — including the UB women’s basketball team — and with high school teams at Falconer and Cassadaga Valley central schools.

But she didn’t stop there.

“Once I graduated with my master’s, I felt confident transitioning into practice, but I honestly chose to pursue higher education just for myself,” Nance said. “I wanted to continue building upon my skill set and building my practice before I had fully transitioned into it.”

She completed a hybrid doctoral program at Indiana State University, working full time at UPMC Chautauqua and earning her Doctorate in Athletic Training in 2023. She joined Jamestown Public Schools full-time in January of that year.

For Nance, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing student-athletes through the entire recovery process, from the moment of injury to their return to play.

“With athletic training, you see them every day,” she said. “Instead of checking in every other week like in physical therapy, I can make changes as needed and see how they’re progressing. The best part of the job is seeing them go from something severe, like an ACL tear that takes nine months to a year, all the way to returning to play. Watching them finally get back to doing what they love is the best part.”

Her afternoons reflect that commitment. By 3:15, the training room is packed with athletes needing tape, treatment, or just a quick check-in.

“Between 3:15 and 3:45 is the busiest time,” Nance said. “Around four o’clock, I’ll drive the golf cart around and make my rounds to check on practices, and if we have a game at 6 or 7 p.m., I move right into game coverage.”

Nance believes her role is about more than prevention and treatment — it’s also about connection.

“I think it’s just great coming back as an alum, just because of the individuals that I’ve been surrounded by,” she said. “Jamestown is a great community to be a part of. It’s great being back, too, just because of the amount of people I’m already familiar with that I get to work with now instead of working with them as a student. It helps make that connection very smooth, but it’s a different perspective.”

“It’s cool to come back full circle.”