With three and half more months left in her senior year at Spring-Ford High School, Nicole Marie Fern, has one less thing to worry about. She was recently accepted to Southern Connecticut State University as a student athlete. Silvia’s Gymnastics is honored to call Nicole one of their own, as she is the first member of this 3-year-old competitive team to garner such a prestigious honor.

Nicole is the daughter of Bob and Diane Fern of Royersford and a member of the National Honor Society at Spring-Ford, maintaining a GPA of 93.51 and ranked in the top 20% of her graduating class. She is a seasoned competitive gymnast, currently competing level 10 for Silvia’s Gymnastics.

Searching for the right college that offers a competitive woman’s gymnastics program can be quite a challenge. Toward the end of Nicole’s junior year she began her search via the internet and narrowed her choices to colleges that were within a 4-5 hour commute from Royersford. She preferred schools with a smaller student body in a rural setting. Emailing the coaches of the gymnastics teams and set up visits to their campuses consumed most of her summer.

Nicole began the process by creating a promotional video, which exemplified her gymnastics talents and mailed the tape to 10 colleges and universities that met her criteria. Aside from Southern Connecticut State University, Nicole toured and spoke to coaches from Rutgers University, James Madison University and West Chester University. Meeting the other members of the SCSU gymnastics team along with the coach sealed the deal for Nicole. She had made her selection. But, her acceptance was not guaranteed, yet. Nicole submitted letters of recommendation from her high school teachers and the coaches from Silvia’s Gymnastics to two of the universities. Just recently, Nicole received an acceptance letter in the mail from SCSU, upon which she contacted the gymnastics coach, Jerry Nelson, immediately. Coach Nelson told Nicole he believes she will be a strong contributor to his team upon her arrival at Southern Connecticut State University.

Selecting the college was easy; selecting a major was not. Nicole is undecided as to what she will study while in college. She is a strong math student so may pursue a career in that curriculum. Right now her focus is on gymnastics.

In addition to the hometown feeling of SCSU and the warm greeting she received from the other members of the woman’s gymnastics team, Nicole was impressed with the coach’s philosophy that everyone is a part of the team even if they are not competing that particular week. The entire team travels together and everyone has a part at the competition itself.

Nicole also liked the idea that she would be rooming with fellow teammates. She is working hard to earn a starting spot on at least 3 events and possibly compete as an all-around competitor for the team in the fall.

Nicole never gave up on her dream to compete at the collegiate level. When she first began competitive gymnastics she found the balance beam to be her most challenging event. Last year, her hard work and dedication were rewarded, as she became the Level 9 State Balance Beam champion. Her academic success in school coupled with her drive and determination in the gym were a big factor in her acceptance to Southern Connecticut State University. Nicole is thankful for the strong work ethic her parents and coaches instilled in her along with the ‘never give up’ attitude. Nicole’s advice to her fellow teammates is simple, “Be thankful for your parents and for the wonderful coaching staff at Silvia’s Gymnastics, especially Miss Maia and Mr. Zarko. If you really love the sport of gymnastics, believe in yourself and don’t ever give up on your dreams because they can become a reality.”