Donna Ramsey ('76, '78 M.Ed.) knew what she was meant to do with her life since she was a kid.

"When I was eight years old, I would take the toilet paper roll and I would make a cast on my left arm," she says. "I didn't have any idea why I was doing that. But I did it all the time."

Always active in sports, she played three sports at North Texas. In the middle of her undergraduate college career, then-head athletic trainer John Porche approached her and asked her if she would be interested in the field.

"Sports and medicine, they just came together," she says. "And I said, 'Absolutely.' It was like a dream come true because I've been an athlete since I was a child and I love the medical field."

Using her humor and strong work ethic, she's made an incredible career. After earning her degrees from North Texas, she was the first full-time female licensed athletic trainer at the high school level in the U.S. She worked for Dallas ISD for 30 years, and she'll be inducted into the Dallas ISD Hall of Fame in April.

"It's fun, and I love it," she says. "God put me on that path. And I stayed on that path."

A Test on the Field

Ramsey grew up in New Orleans and attended a private school that offered every sport for both boys and girls. She played volleyball, softball and ran track. Her family moved to Dallas when she was a teenager, and she was surprised area schools didn't offer any athletics for females.

But she found her niche at North Texas, playing volleyball, basketball and running track. After Porche gave her the opportunity to pursue her career as an athletic trainer, she helped out in all sports -- track and field, volleyball, basketball and football, working under legendary coach Hayden Fry.

She put in the required 1,800 hours of apprenticeship to get her license and worked as a graduate assistant from 1976 to 1978 while studying for her master's in physical education.

When Ramsey began working for Dallas ISD in 1978, she was put to the test.

"The male coaches were like, 'This will never work,'" she says.

At a football game three weeks into her job, a coach brought one of his players to her on the sidelines, concerned about a concussion.

"I looked at his eyes and there were unequal pupils."

She told his family he needed to go to the hospital for evaluation immediately. His mother was about to drive him there when he passed out in the parking lot.

"I was able to do CPR and I saved him," she says.

The paramedics took him to the hospital, where the athlete made a full recovery.

"I feel very blessed to be able to save this young man's life," she says -- and the male coaches understood she knew what she was doing.

First Aid

For the next three decades at Dallas ISD, she would work football, soccer, basketball, volleyball and baseball games. She'd always arrive at 1 p.m. and get started on rehabilitation, working one-on-one with any athlete who was injured. She was the athletic trainer in charge of Loos Stadium, so she took care of all of the rehabilitation and diagnosis of injuries for five high schools and six middle schools.

"It was very hectic but organized and the athletes were eager to get well," she says.

Games started at about 5 p.m. She worked 10 football games a week along with taking care of the volleyball games on the inside of the stadium. Later in the fall, she was covering basketball on the inside and soccer and baseball on the outside.

When the kids got hurt, she showed her love for them.

"I always made them laugh when they came to the training room. We focused on getting well and back to the sport they loved and took any negativity away from the healing process."

At Dallas ISD, in the late 1990s, she worked with a linebacker at Hillcrest High School named Colin Allred.

He took a direct blow to his quadriceps, which caused bleeding within the muscle -- a severe injury.

His team won the game and made the playoffs the next week. "I saw him in the training room every single day and was able to get him healed and ready for the next game. I felt like that was a huge success because it is extremely hard to come back from that type of injury in a week."

Allred went on to have a career as a linebacker in the NFL and served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

She also mentored several student trainers -- one of whom, Greg Gaither, is now in his 22nd year as assistant athletic trainer for the Dallas Cowboys.

Another highlight came in 1988, when Ramsey traveled to the Olympic trials accompanying Louise Ritter, who attended Texas Woman's University and went on to win the gold medal in high jump later that year.

Ramsey retired from Dallas ISD in 2008. But she felt lost without it and immediately began working at North Central Texas College for 14 years, retiring in 2022.

Although her schedule is less busy now, Ramsey still keeps active. She plays golf and works on her 20-acre cattle farm. She still gets calls from ex-players, coaches and friends for advice, which she loves.

"Be prepared for long hours, and you have to love what you're doing. And, when you feel like a path has been given to you, follow it."