Dena Bissell is starting her second year as an assistant athletic trainer within the Seahawk sports medicine department.

The Centreville, Va., native earned her bachelor of science degree in education with a concentration in athletic training in 2008 from University of Kansas.  Bissell then completed a master of education in 2010 at Alvernia University.

Bissell came to St. Mary's after a two-year stint at Alvernia where she served as the primary ATC for men's ice hockey, along with working with 13 other Crusader sports teams.  While at Alvernia, she worked with Commonwealth Orthopaedic Associates and participated in conducting physicals at area middle and high schools as well as providing event coverage as needed.

At Kansas, Bissell worked at the USA Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships and helped out at Eudora High School.  She served as the athletic trainer for the Jayhawk football, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track & field, and women's tennis teams.

Bissell is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA).