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Allison Medford spent a full season with the WNBA\u2019s Phoenix Mercury as an athletic training student. (Photo by Ralph Freso)<\/p>\n Allison Medford spent a full season with the WNBA\u2019s Phoenix Mercury as an athletic training student. (Photo by Ralph Freso)<\/p>\n
The arena was nearly pitch black. An orange and purple light dimly illuminated the digital bands surrounding the court. The hardwood was cleared, and all eyes were on the locker room tunnel.<\/p>\n
The music decibels crept toward deafening. The crowd began to roar. The lights and lasers exploded, and the Phoenix Mercury raced onto the court.<\/p>\n
Toward the back of the tunnel, Grand Canyon University<\/a> student Allison Medford watched the team race by her and into the WNBA Finals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was electric,\u201d she said of the experience. \u201cThey\u2019re just so excited to play, and they all love to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Medford wasn\u2019t just there to cheer the Mercury toward a championship. The athletic training master’s student was at work as an intern.<\/p>\n Four hours earlier, she arrived at a nearly empty locker room.<\/p>\n She would arrive an hour before everyone else on her team, clean up the training room, restock the tape and “do all the random things that need to get done before game time,” she said.<\/p>\n Michael McKenney, associate professor in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions and coordinator of clinical education, said students typically can expect a four-week immersive experience for their master of science in athletic training.<\/p>\n Medford had a unique experience with the Mercury. She attended all home regular-season and playoff games from April to October. Her internship wrapped up with at-home and on-the-road games for the championship series.<\/p>\n Interns in athletics can feel dwarfed by giants in their planned profession \u2013 Mercury players range from 5 foot 8 to more than 6-feet tall \u2013 and the 5-foot-3-inch Medford was no exception.<\/p>\n She also isn’t the exception when it comes to GCU students serving interships with the professional sports teams in the Valley. While Medford was with the Mercury, other GCU athletic training graduate students have interned with the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Rising. GCU master’s candidates work with other professional baseball teams as well, said McKenney.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have strong relationships with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers and the (Milwaukee) Brewers,\u201d he said, with clinical experiences including NCAA Division 1 sports at GCU and ASU.<\/p>\n Athletic trainer candidates also rotate among the university\u2019s club sports, the Lopes Orthopedic Clinic<\/a>, community college programs, and several high school districts. McKenny said he believes only one other college has an on-campus orthopedic program, like GCU.<\/p>\n Medford\u2019s Mercury internship was a capper for her college career ahead of her planned spring 2026 graduation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so fun,\u201d she said. \u201c(The experience) was super awesome and something that I had never experienced before. The team members of the Mercury, and \u2026 all of the staff are just incredible people.\u201d<\/p>\n After her first days with the team, Medford found that she was treated like part of the organization. She appreciated the staff, including preceptor Jariah Fulson, the Mercury’s head of athletic training. They taught her new things every day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players kind of just brought me in, as well, and were just happy that I was there and weren\u2019t afraid to ask me for things, either,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were all very humble and very kind and \u2026 willing to get to know me and bring me in \u2026 which was super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n During the summer of 2025, Medford was in the training room every day it was staffed. She was vetted by the team for all home games. When the fall semester rolled around, her clinical rotation was set to end, but the Mercury had different expectations.<\/p>\n Medford was asked to continue working with the team throughout the playoffs and the WNBA finals \u2013 a remarkable accomplishment for any athletic training student, McKenney said.<\/p>\n \u201cFall semester started, (and) I had to switch clinicals, technically,\u201d Medford said. \u201cThey still wanted me to be with them. (But I) cut back my time a little bit in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n After taping and helping the Mercury\u2019s stars get ready for the game, when they went onto the court, so did she.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the beginning of the season, I sat in the second row of the bench and helped hand out water bottles and make sure the water bottles were filled,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they wanted gum, I\u2019d give them gum in their mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n She was also responsible for mouthguards.<\/p>\n As the season progressed, so did her responsibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cTowards the second half of the season, I started moving towards helping the visiting team,\u201d Medford said. \u201cI started sitting on the visiting team\u2019s bench, and anything that they needed, I would be their runner to go get things for them.\u201d<\/p>\n There was greater responsibility in her role as a member of the visiting team training staff. If a player was injured, Medford assisted in getting them to the medical department integrated into the arena. Her role on both benches was to be helpful but stay out of the way.<\/p>\n The GCU athletic training program has been fully accredited since 2024, and the first master’s cohort is graduating in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of expected to learn the basics of evaluation and treatments and rehabs \u2026 that go into athletic training and the clinical aspect,\u201d Medford said about her expectations from the program. \u201cI\u2019ve learned so much more about interpersonal communication and who makes up a sports medicine team. I\u2019ve learned a lot of that just through watching my preceptors communicate with team physicians.\u201d<\/p>\n Medford aspired to a career in health care and to pursue athletics. The master’s in athletic training program addressed her goals.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a couple of injuries when I was younger, and my high school did not have an athletic trainer. Kids need an advocate in school for things like that,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce I got to college and kind of understood what an athletic trainer was and what they do, I just totally started to understand that I think my injuries could have been completely prevented.\u201d<\/p>\n After the Mercury, Medford heads to the rugby club, where she\u2019ll apply what she learned from professional players to support injured students in that contact sport. She also needs to complete a capstone project and prepare for her athletic training board certifications. Then comes graduation and a career.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m kind of willing to go anywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cI would love to work to continue with basketball, like everything that I\u2019ve been taught over the summer. Somewhere in Division 1 athletics would be my goal, (but) I do have a heart for high school.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Jay Toll can be reached at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n Related stories:<\/p>\n GCU News: GCU is building well-rounded students through clinical rotations<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AllisonMedford-PhxMercury-rf-120525-007-1024x697.jpg\")
Allison Medford (back row, second from left) with the Phoenix Mercury. (Submitted photo)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AllisonMedford-MichaelMcKenney-rf-120525-002-1024x658.jpg\")
Associate professor Michael McKenney, coordinator of clinical education, was instrumental in helping athletic training master’s student Allison Medford land an internship with the Phoenix Mercury. (Photo by Ralph Freso)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AllisonMedford-MichaelMcKenney-rf-120525-003-1024x714.jpg\")
Coordinator of Clinical Education Michael McKenney works with grad student Kaleah Walker in rehabbing her torn ACL at the Lopes Orthopedic Clinic. McKenney said GCU’s athletic training students have interned with such teams as the Phoenix Mercury, Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals, to name a few. (Photo by Ralph Freso)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AllisonMedford-PhxMercury-rf-120525-008-833x1024.jpg\")
Athletic training intern Allison Medford (left) with the Phoenix Mercury\u2019s Kahleah Cooper. (Submitted photo)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AllisonMedford-PhxMercury-rf-120525-009-779x1024.jpg\")
Athletic training intern Allison Medford (right) with Phoenix Mercury player Natasha Mack. (Submitted photo)<\/p>\n