Maddie is currently in her Junior year at The University of Arkansas where she is a member of the Gymnastics Team. She was born and raised in Virginia Beach, VA. In middle school , she moved to Charlotte, NC to pursue gymnastics at a higher level. She started gymnastics when she was four years old. Her mom put her in classes to get her energy out! She Currently majors in Supply Chain Management and Marketing at the University of Arkansas.
 

Share the moment or experience that ignited your passion and set you on your current path.

I think a moment that ignited my passions and put me where I am today, is the day at I committed to Arkansas back 2020. This is a defining moment for me because since arriving on campus at Arkansas, I’ve felt at home and the people here have helped me find who I am outside of sport and have helped me find my passions outside of gymnastics. This has been so important for me and the University of Arkansas has forever changed my life, in and out of the gym! 

 

We'd love to hear about a significant challenge you've overcome, and the lessons learned along the way.

A significant challenge I’ve overcome is over the course of my gymnastics career I’ve had 4 elbow surgeries. Each surgery was a different experience, and each helped shaped me into the athlete I am today. I think one of the most important lessons, I learned along the way was patience. Coming back from an injury takes time and learning to be patient with my body and my health overall really helped me has I moved through my career. Another important lesson I’ve learned through my injuries is resilience. Coming back from injuries or any adversity required a lot mental toughness and resilience and I’ve learned that its best to stay focused on your goals and remain positive to help push you through any hard times. 

Discuss the impact you aim to have through your work and the legacy you wish to leave

The impact I wish to have through my sport and legacy I want to leave is helping athletes find who they are outside of their sport. For a lot of sports, college is the end of an athlete’s career and sometimes it can be hard to find who you are without your sport. Through my time at Arkansas, I have found who I am and allowed my sport to not define me because every athlete is more than their sport. And this is my biggest goal as I finish up my college years, is to help younger athletes find themselves!  

 

What motivates you to challenge the status quo and push boundaries in your industry?

Something that motives me to push boundaries in athletics is using our platform to help others in our community. We have a huge platform as college athletes and finding a way to make a positive impact that that platform I think is so important. I love giving back to others, so I’ve found a passion in community service through my time at Arkansas. Razorback nation is our biggest supporter and giving back to our fans in need is something so heartwarming! 

What's one piece of advice you'd give to young women aiming to make their mark?

A piece of advice I would give to young women wanted to make their mark is to find who they are and what they are passionate about. If you know those 2 things, you can achieve anything you want too and do it with your full heart! 

 

How do you define success for yourself, and do you feel you've achieved it?

To me success is how much you can make a positive impact on at least one person’s life. If I could help, make a difference in at least one persons life than that in itself is a success to me. I also believe that success can be in your personal growth and reaching your goals of who you want to be as a person! I believe that I have reached some success but not entirely because there’s always room to grow and continuing to make an impact!