Bio

Jessica Welsh has been a member of the Athletic Training office at Penn State Altoona since 2014.

Welsh graduated from Penn State University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Athletic Training. While in the program, she worked with the varsity swimming & diving, track & field, and men’s soccer teams.

After graduation, Welsh's professional career began in 2006 at Drayer Physical Therapy with an outreach to Altoona Area High School, working alongside ATC Dan McAllister, who became a friend and mentor to Welsh. At Altoona Area, she worked with girls and boys volleyball, girls soccer, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys tennis, gymnastics, boys wrestling, and softball. In 2010, began working with Bishop Guilfoyle High School in Altoona through her position at Drayer, spreading her wings as the solo ATC and covering seventh grade through varsity level football, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls basketball.

In 2014, Welsh moved into the collegiate scene and served as the solo ATC for NCAA Division III Penn State Altoona. In 2018, she was named the head ATC, as well as the Athletics department's senior woman administrator. Welsh moved into a new title in October 2024, picking up the position of ATC supervisor for Penn State Altoona Athletics, while still maintaining her senior woman administrator duties. She also serves as the lead ATC for Penn State Altoona's NCAA women's and men's volleyball, men's basketball, baseball, men's and women's wrestling, and men's soccer teams. The collegiate setting also opened many doors outside of the training room for Welsh, who is a trained facilitator for NCAA OneTeam, a program that promotes inclusion, diversity, and belonging. She has also attended five NCAA national conventions, and she has taken a lead role in developing the Penn State Altoona Athletics mental health committee. Welsh's connections on campus include strong partnerships with the Sheetz Health and Wellness Center, and she also works closely with University Orthopedics in Altoona and many local physical therapists.

Welsh is grateful to the student-athletes who trust her with their health and safety. Seeing athletes devote themselves to a sport drives her to assist them with their injuries and get them back on the court or field of play as quickly as possible without risking re-injury or their health status.

Welsh resides in Altoona with her husband, Justin, and their son, Owen.