Leonard Ramirez

It’s 11:15 a.m. and Los Angeles Pierce College student athletes are trickling into the office where senior athletic trainer Leonard Ramirez, or Lenny as he is known, reminds those waiting that treatments won’t begin for another 15 minutes.

There is a casual nature in the exchange between Ramirez and the students. It’s comfortable, like Ramirez’s grey Nike shirt that reads in highlighter green letters “Pierce.

Just Do It.” did that, I got a lot more interested,” Ramirez says. “In physical therapy you often work on people that are never going to recover, like spinal cord injuries. You want to see people get well and return to their sport. You want to see them play in their games and that’s kind of like validation of the work you do.”

Originally, Ramirez majored in physical education, or what today is called kinesiology.

In the morning, Ramirez fills and prepares the three whirlpools in the trainers’ room in the Pierce South Gym, but before any treatments begin, there is administrative work to be done.

Papers are organized in small stacks lined next to Ramirez’s desk like an assembly line. These papers are related to treatments being given and physicals of athletes.

“She is probably the best boss I will ever have,” says staff member Briggitte Krets. “She is a friend, a mentor, a boss, swim coach and has helped me a lot this year with both pool deck and personal problems.”

Hefter says she brought the once mossy green pool back to a deep ocean blue with constant maintenance and a change in chemicals. Currently, Hefter is working to get the 30-year-old pool system and its machines up to date by using energy efficient systems to save money. Hefter, a former student and swimmer at Pierce, heard about the position one year after she graduated. Her passion is coaching and teaching young adults.

“This seems to be what I am best at, guiding young kids into adulthood, teaching them to be good adults and how to work well

“This is a very nice way to wrap up my career,” Schneider says. “I’ve seen the spectrum.”

Ramirez wanted to get physical therapy until he suffered an injury in college and began working with the athletic trainer during his recovery.

“After I went through the process, I stayed on as a student athletic trainer to help. The more I

“We do administration, which takes a decent amount of time. Then we do treatment of injuries after we’ve evaluated the injury. Then we attend the practices in the evening,” Ramirez says.

[For the full story visit thebullmag.com] in business environments,” Heftor says. She belongs to the student culture, as she is also a current student working on her master’s degree to continue teaching and move up in management. Her other interests include exercise, surfing and kayaking.