Students often use the long Labor Day weekend to catch their breath before the fall semester kicks in. This year, Jackson Hoovler MSAT ’26 used his breath to save a man’s life.
Twice.
Utilizing the skills he learned in Alvernia’s Master of Science in Athletic Training program, the 21-year-old revived a man who had collapsed following a football game at Twin Valley High School on Friday, August 30.
A volunteer with Tri-County Young Life, a chapter of a Christian organization that helps high-schoolers grow in their faith, Hoovler was at the game to reach out to students. After the contest, he was chatting with a co-worker in the parking lot when a woman ran by pleading for medical help. Hoovler jumped into action, sprinting across the lot until he located the victim. A small group surrounding him said the man had just collapsed.
“I put my fingers on his carotid artery to check for a pulse and there was nothing,” he said. “He was blue in the face and he wasn't breathing at that point. I immediately started CPR. I did three cycles of 30:2 chest compressions and breaths, and then the gentleman came back to life. He was kind of mumbling to us. But then we lost him again. He went back down, no pulse and stopped breathing. So I restarted CPR and did an additional two cycles. At this point, I'm exhausted.”
The roller-coaster of emotions and physical exertion caused Hoovler’s heart rate to spike to nearly 160 beats per minute. If done correctly, each cycle of CPR lasts about 30 seconds, meaning that Hoovler performed the strenuous combination of breaths and compression for a total of about three minutes, while checking for any hint of a pulse in between cycles.
“My only thought while it was happening – I don't know if I said it out loud or in my head – was ‘I'm going to save this gentleman’s life. I'm going to save his life,' ” he remembered. “At that point I was on autopilot.”
Luckily, a registered nurse showed up and took over, performing an additional cycle of CPR until Emergency Medical Services showed up, using an automated external defibrillator to save his life for the second time.
“As soon as we shocked him back to life, he said was ready to go home,” Hoovler remembered. “And we were like, ‘Sir, we're going to take you to the hospital.’ ”
Afterward, finally not running on pure instinct and adrenaline, Hoovler sat in his car for about 20 minutes, regrouping and trying to process everything.
The 67-year-old Selinsgrove man, who had open heart surgery in 2020, was at the football game to cheer on the Selinsgrove team, on which his grandson plays and his nephew coaches. He remained in the hospital as of Tuesday morning, according to updates Hoovler received from his family.
“Your son was a hero that night and he saved my dad’s life,” a family member wrote to Hoovler’s mother on Facebook. “My dad is alive and in the hospital for doctors to figure out what happened. If not for your son my father may not be here with us. Please tell your son thank you from the bottom of my heart. … Godspeed to your son and your family!”
The first-year grad student, who performs clinical rotations at Kutztown University, said he had a general idea how to administer CPR before he transferred to Alvernia, but he became certified through the Athletic Training program.
“The use of life-saving skills is a powerful and emotionally charged experience,” said MSAT Program Director Thomas Franek, Ph.D., LAT, ATC. “It can be overwhelming for practitioners, let alone for student-learners. Like my faculty colleagues in the MSAT program, I am not surprised that Jackson immediately intervened in this situation and that his intervention helped save this person’s life. Jackson is a strong academic student with excellent clinical skills. More importantly, he is a compassionate person who cares deeply for others. He truly embodies the mission of our program and that of Alvernia University.”
The Sparrow Bush, N.Y., resident transferred to Alvernia during the spring semester of his sophomore year, after briefly attending institutions in Virginia and North Carolina. A quarterback in high school, he was recruited for the Golden Wolves football team in 2021. He remembered that outreach when searching for a new school. The twin enticements of studying in an acclaimed athletic training program while playing on the golf team sealed the deal for the student-athlete, who hopes to eventually coach a college golf team while working part time as an athletic trainer.
“I love it,” said Hoovler, who was named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth in 2024 and helped lead the Golden Wolves to a third-place finish at the 2024 MAC Commonwealth Championships. “Last fall we got to go to Las Vegas for the National Preview, and that was spectacular. It's not often that you get to fly across the country with four of your best friends and then go play golf for five days.”
