My entire childhood took place on Dianthus in the Hill Section! Some of my fondest memories are my mom walking my sister and I to Robinson Elementary in Kindergarten, riding my bike around the neighborhood with my siblings, and walking down to the beach during the summer (when my siblings and I could finally make the walk by ourselves!). My family and I were always on the go with different sports or activities but, the Hill Section was the perfect place to come home to for some peace and quiet.

 

I just finished my gymnastics career at UCLA. While on the team at UCLA, I competed beam and floor. Being from Manhattan Beach and taking up surfing in high school, my floor coach even gave me a "surfer/beach girl" inspired floor routine for my junior year. I also spent my freshman year at University of Washington where I got to compete in all four events (Vault, Bars, Beam, and Floor) at almost every competition.

 

I started gymnastics when I was 3 because my mom saw me doing somersaults off our coffee table in the living room. I was always making our home my jungle gym, so she put me in gymnastics! I was lucky enough to train with incredible gymnasts prior to my collegiate career, including Mckayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, and Mattie Larson. Kyla and Mattie both took their talents to UCLA to compete after their time representing the US on the National Team (winning Olympic and World medals!!). Mattie was the first gymnast I personally trained with that went to UCLA and she was the one who inspired my interest in NCAA Gymnastics.

 

Kyla Ross, Jordan Chiles, Mckayla Maroney, and Shawn Johnson are a few reputable gymnasts I have trained with or met! I also got to meet Arod and Matthew Stafford because they came to UCLA Gymnastics meets!

 

My favorite moment was winning the Pac 12 Regular Season Championship with my team in 2023 and going on to qualify to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament! Another proud moment was getting to compete again in my senior year on beam after tearing my ACL in January of my junior season.

I love to stay organized! I make lists of things I need to get done and plan out time and set reminders in my phone to work on specific assignments. I took up reading and meditating in my free time to give myself an escape in between practice and classes. It was also important for me to make time to come home to see my mom and get space from school/gymnastics at times! She would always take me out to dinner or make me something from scratch, which was treasured as a college student.

 

In gymnastics I was taught discipline, time management, how to prioritize, and to believe in myself. To celebrate the small wins! Every small accomplishment leads to a bigger one. I also learned that staying positive is essential to being successful and efficient.

 

My most influential coaches were Iryna Krasnianska, Alex Waller, and Galina Marinova. Each of them instilled a belief in myself that helped me as a gymnast and person.

 

I have been all over the United States for gymnastics! At UCLA we traveled to every school in the Pac 12. We also went to North Carolina, Texas, and Minnesota for out of conference competitions.

I graduated from UCLA cum laude (3.92 GPA) with a BA in Labor Studies. I won All Around, Beam, and Vault titles against Pac 12 schools (Arizona and Cal) my freshman year at UW. I won Pac 12 Regular Season Championship with my UCLA team in 2023. I was a WGCA Academic All American 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. I was also on the Pac 12 and UCLA All Academic team in 2023. I was given the Scholar Athlete award, Growth and Perseverance award, and Energy award by UCLA Gymnastics.

 

While I am studying for the LSAT, I am back on campus this school year working for UCLA Athletics as a Student Athlete Academic Mentor. My goal is to attend law school after this application season (fall of 2025) and pursue a career as an attorney in the Labor and Employment field.

 

Dream big then believe and invest in yourself! Hard work ALWAYS beats talent, if talent doesn't work hard. If you put in the time and effort, you will be happy with the results. I would also say that comparison is the thief of joy, and you can only control your own actions and reactions. It is always better to focus on how you can better yourself rather than how you can be better than others.