Evelyn Harris

Nearly my whole life I have identified myself as a gymnast. I was introduced to the sport when I was only two and a half years old. It was a natural progression. By the time I could walk I was in the gym. My gymnastics career started in South Carolina and brought me all over the United States. I trained and lived in South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana. I have competed in nearly every state. My favorite place gymnastics has taken me is Anchorage, Alaska. I competed against the University of Alaska Anchorage with my Ladies from Centenary College of Louisiana.

Gymnastics, for anyone unfamiliar with the sport, is equivalent to a full time job. In the fourth grade I gave up going to public school to train nine to five. By middle school, my parents enrolled me in a Catholic school with abbreviations to my schedule to accommodate my practice times. In sixth grade I got in trouble with my coach for joining a book club at my school. When I moved to Texas my schooling adjusted once again to allow for P.E. waivers and excused absences for national competitions. I put in over thirty hours a week in the gym at fifteen years old. In addition to my time in the gym, during the summers I cross trained. I took ballet, ran track, tried barre, and swam to benefit my performance inside the gym. After eighteen years of flipping with friends, I officially hung up my grips in the spring of 2018 to be a dawg.