Jon Wells and Alexa Hetzel

Jon Wells (2011) and Alexa Hetzel, PA-C (2012) graduates of the Kinesiology Department

Jon and Alexa are forever grateful to Penn State for introducing them to EACH OTHER!

When Jon came to Happy Valley Fall of 2007, it was a major adjustment. He was still recovering from a traumatic brain injury from 2005. Due to his injury, he was forced to re-learn how to retain the information he was learning. Jon’s professors and classmates were instrumental in helping him graduate. His Penn State family showed him, while YOU must put in the work, it's still a team effort. It is these connections that helped encourage Jon to where he is today and inspired him to open his own fitness center, Our Team Fitness.

While in his final year at Penn State, Jon built a business plan and implemented it at the Bellefonte YMCA his first year after graduation. His idea was so successful that he left and opened Our Team Fitness soon after. They have been in business for 6 years and are servicing over 130 clients per week!

Alexa joined the Penn State family Fall of 2008 as a student athlete for the Women’s Swim Team. She dove headfirst into the culture and loved every second of football games, THON, Cafe Laura, her swim meets, tricking people into thinking the HUB (Hetzel Union Building) was named after her family and, of course, ice cream and chocolate milk. But, what made her ultimately choose Penn State in the first place was the bond she felt between the academic experience that blended so well with all the extracurriculars available. She often looks back on her time in Happy Valley as the best years of her life.

Alexa’s educational experience at Penn State was second to none. The professors provided her with an incredible basis of knowledge that helped propel her to be successful in PA (Physician Assistant) school and in her professional life.

Alexa has many memories of her time in Happy Valley. Mornings before a football game when town became electric with the buzz of hundreds of thousands of people, the Blue Band ready yell, and of course standing in the student section for four hours. And who can forget Dr. Rickett’s “Hooterville” stair challenge.

Jon and Alexa have been happily married for 7 years and have a daughter, Payton. Currently, Jon owns and operates Our Team Fitness and Alexa is a PA for Windsor Dermatology. To learn more about how Jon overcame his injuries and started Our Team Fitness, Click Here