Wojcik Named 30 Under 30 Changemaker by Public Charter Schools Alliance
5/10/2021 9:23:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Junior all-arounder Natalie Wojcik of the 2021 NCAA champion University of Michigan women's gymnastics team has been named a 30 Under 30 Changemaker by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools as announced today (Monday, May 10).
The National Alliance is honoring 30 outstanding young leaders under 30 years old who are connected to these innovative public schools in some way and are using their ideas, talents and platforms to make the world better. The 30 Under 30 Changemakers Awards shine a spotlight on individuals from across the country who are making a meaningful impact in their community via the Arts, Writing and Sports; Education and Politics; Leadership; Science; and Social Justice.
Wojcik attended 21st Century Cyber Charter School in Douglassville, Pa. At Michigan, she is triple majoring in psychology, Spanish and linguistics with career aspirations to become a speech-language pathologist. Following her graduation from Michigan, Wojcik will pursue her master's degree.
Outside of the gym, Wojcik served as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Laura Zahodne's Neuropsychology and Cognitive Aging Lab, where she worked specifically on the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project, which investigates factors that lead to healthy aging in older adults. Wojcik's direct responsibilities included scheduling participants, administration, data entry, and scoring cognitive tests.
Wojcik has also been passionate about volunteer opportunities her entire life as she grew up working with the Special Olympics gymnastics teams starting when she was just eight years old and realized her passion for serving the community and the power that gymnastics had to connect individuals from diverse backgrounds. She has also spent time at U-M volunteering at Mott Children's Hospital and at local community elementary schools with Athletes Through Community Transformation (ACT). Wojcik volunteered in after-school programs modeling team-building activities and serving as a mentor.
In the past two years, Wojcik and the rest of the Wolverine women's gymnastics team also started a pen pal program with a local fourth grade classroom.
In the gym, Wojcik helped lead Michigan to its first national championship in 2021. She finished the 2021 season with six All-America nods (four regular-season, two postseason) and was the WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year for the second time. The junior all-arounder was the Big Ten champion on the vault, scoring her second 10.0 on the apparatus, and was the regional champion on the uneven bars.
Wojcik also earned her third first-team All-Big Ten nod and became an 11-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week with two honors during the 2021 campaign. Wojcik won 15 event titles this season (5 uneven bars, 4 balance beam, 4 all-around, 1 vault, 1 floor exercise) and earned her third career 10.0 with a perfect score on the beam. She was the 2019 NCAA balance beam champion.
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