MILWAUKEE— The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is looking to do its part to fulfill the growing demand for athletic trainers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of athletic trainers is projected to grow by 23% by the end of this decade.

That’s faster than the average of any other occupation.

 Paige Granberg is a graduate student who said she wants to be one of those athletic trainers. That’s been her goal since high school.

“I always hurt in high school so I actually spent a lot of time with my athletic trainer and I was very interested in what they were doing.” said Granberg.

As part of Granberg’s job as an athletic trainer student, she identifies injuries such as a torn ACL.  

“When you stabilize the femur and you pull up on the tibia, if the tibia sinks back, you can tell the ACL is no longer intact, so you are watching for a translation of the tibia there.” Granberg explained.

Granberg’s skills will be in high demand when she finishes school.

Jennifer Earl Boehm is the athletic training program director at UWM. 

She said she believes the need for athletic trainers is rising so fast because they provide urgent care immediately for those involved in physical activities.

“We also feel that it is important that we have athletic trainers accessible to all athletes in all schools, regardless of suburban, urban or rural or socio-economic status or anything, having athletic training health care for all is really important to our profession,” said Boehm.

While Granberg said she spends most of her time in the classroom, she also gets to help with the sports teams at a local high school.

“The most rewarding part of it is just to get to help the athlete from when you get [to] see them progress from having the injury to working through the injury and then getting back out there onto the court or field for whatever sport they are in. It’s just nice to be able to know that you were a part of helping work through that whole injury and get back out into the sport,” said Granberg.

Granberg still has to complete two more semesters before she gets her master's degree, but she is excited for the future and getting to live her dream job.