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Dylan Mondschein, Southwestern Michigan College’s new athletic trainer through Beacon Health System, grew up in Berrien Springs.

In fact, he completed some dual-enrolled SMC classes in high school.

Becoming an athletic trainer is a master’s-level program. After earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan in applied exercise science from the U-M School of Kinesiology, he continued in graduate school for his master’s degree in athletic training.

“I realized early on I didn’t like office jobs,” said Mondschein, who interned with Whirlpool in high school. “I need to be up, moving around. Also, growing up with athletics was a big thing for me. I played hockey, football, baseball, soccer and ran track and cross country.”

He played hockey in a youth league at the University of Notre Dame, at the outdoor rink, the John and Dede Howard Ice Arena in St. Joseph and, in high school, for the LSJ (Lakeshore St. Joseph) Warriors.

“I got to meet people from different schools” playing hockey, he said.

“Unfortunately,” Mondschein said, “I spent more time rehabbing with the athletic trainer than you typically want to as an athlete. Concussions, I sprained my knee a couple of times, broke my collarbone, separated my shoulder.”

Besides graduating from high school and starting college in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mondschein was in the first class required to complete a master’s degree.

“I was taking four or five classes, and only one, a hybrid class, met in person and online,” he said. “Winter semester, we just stayed home. My freshman year, I was only on campus from move-in day to Thanksgiving. Classes met on Zoom.”

As a Wolverine for his five-semester program, Mondschein spent Fall 2024 with the football team and two 2025 semesters with women’s soccer.

“From January to mid-April, I did my immersion,” he said, likening it to an internship he fulfilled at the University of Massachusetts with the men’s ice hockey team.

Mondschein started at SMC July 27. Although the volleyball and cross country teams moved in at the beginning of August, other teams won’t arrive until the 31^st.

“I want to make sure we have enough towels, tape, anything we might need,” he said. “Right now I’m trying to do preventive stuff because your first weeks, your body is not used to it and you tend to overdo it until you get warmed up again. I want to take care of small issues now before they become big issues once the seasons are in full swing. I’m kind of going 25 mph now to get ready to hop on the highway once everybody gets here.”

“I realized this is what I want to do when I worked with an athlete who was not in a good spot. She had played this sport her entire life and now she’s in college and not able to play. As a first-year grad student, I wasn’t doing everything in her recovery to get her to where she was able to play, but I saw that change. I didn’t know her before she was hurt. If I helped 1 percent, it confirmed for me this is the field I want to be in. I’d rather not see people get hurt, obviously, but to try to be there for them when they do is valuable because it can be tough getting back to where they feel their best.”

“I spent a lot of time on the east side of Michigan,” he said, “but I love this area. I’ll always be west side, best side” as he upholds his sibling rivalry with his older sister who went to Michigan State.