Alumni: NDSU grad builds career and community as athletic trainer 

Mike Kjellerson knows all about Bison Pride. As the assistant athletic director for sports medicine with NDSU Athletics, Kjellerson enjoys working with NDSU’s student athletes every day to make sure they are in the best shape possible to represent NDSU.

In his role, Kjellerson oversees the daily operation of the sports medicine department, which consists of 11 full-time certified athletic trainers and two graduate assistant certified athletic trainers, in addition to running the day-to-day operations of the sports medicine facilities.

It’s the people at NDSU who have stood out most and made Kjellerson’s 20-plus year career special.

“NDSU and NDSU Athletics have provided me with opportunities I never thought were possible,” Kjellerson said. “It is truly a family, and you will not find a culture like ours anywhere else. I’m extremely grateful for all the experiences and opportunities that NDSU has provided me.”

Kjellerson has felt right at home with NDSU Athletics since he was a student in NDSU’s athletic training degree program. Kjellerson was initially drawn to the degree because of his love for sports and desire to help people.

From receiving hands-on experience working in clinical settings to gaining in-depth knowledge and real-world skills in sports medicine, Kjellerson said NDSU provided him with the best education he could have received.

“NDSU’s athletic training education program is one of the best programs in the country and the clinical experiences available are second to none,” he said. “A degree from NDSU in athletic training also made me very marketable. Employers love employees from NDSU due to their knowledge and work ethic.”

The athletic training program is now offered as a master’s degree, which builds from prior experience in the field. Students in the program work in diverse clinical rotations across various settings in schools, hospitals and clinics.

As a student, Kjellerson spent most of his time outside of the classroom shadowing athletic trainers within NDSU Athletics and working with student athletes. While he initially thought about working in a clinical setting after graduation, Kjellerson quickly realized working in an athletics setting was more his pace.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 2007, Kjellerson went on to earn two more degrees from NDSU, including his master’s in health, nutrition and exercise science in 2009, and most recently, his doctorate in exercise science and nutrition in 2024, all while working his way up to his current role as an assistant athletic director.

Kjellerson said NDSU professors have always been there to help him achieve his goals throughout the pursuit of all three of his degrees.

“Many of my professors spent hours making my individual experience as a student a positive one. We have this same philosophy in athletics, so it made it easy for me to pay it back to our student athletes,” he said.

His advice for students is to strive for success and to take every opportunity to learn and grow.

“Embrace every minute and appreciate all the work those around you are putting in to make you successful,” he said. “Your level of success is most dependent on you, so learn as much as you can and meet as many people as possible.”

Kjellerson said there isn’t a better option than NDSU for a high-quality education while being valued as a person.

“Choose NDSU if you want to be treated like a person and not a number,” he said. “Many other universities are recruiting numbers and ignoring the individual. NDSU recruits high quality individuals and then provides individualized attention to make their college experience top-notch.”

To hear more about Mike’s story, check out the official NDSU YouTube channel.

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