My name is Zoe, and I am a powerlifter, student, and someone who has learned that strength is not just measured by what you can lift, but by what you can overcome. Powerlifting has become a huge part of my life, but it didn’t come without challenges. I’ve dealt with injuries, setbacks, and moments where I had to question whether I could keep going. There were times when training hurt, not just physically but mentally too. Still, those experiences shaped me into someone who understands resilience on a deeper level. Through everything, my faith has been a steady foundation for me. It has helped me stay grounded when things felt uncertain and reminded me that I’m never going through challenges alone. Alongside that, my family, coaches, teammates, and community have played a huge role in my journey. They’ve supported me, believed in me, and pushed me to keep going even when I doubted myself. I’ve learned that having a strong support system can make all the difference in someone’s life, especially when they’re going through something difficult. Because of my own experiences with injuries and recovery, I’ve developed a strong passion for understanding the human body and helping others heal. That’s why I want to become a physical therapist. I want to be the person who helps someone take their first steps after an injury, regain strength after a setback, or rebuild confidence when they feel like they’ve lost it. I know what it feels like to be sidelined and frustrated, and I want to be able to support others through that process with patience and understanding. My long-term goal is to open my own gym and rehabilitation center. But I don’t just want it to be a place focused on physical training. I want it to be a space where people feel safe, encouraged, and supported no matter where they are in their journey. Whether someone is an athlete trying to get back to competition, or someone simply trying to feel stronger and healthier in their everyday life, I want them to feel seen and valued. I want it to be a place that focuses on overall well-being—physical, mental, and emotional. To me, true strength is showing up on the hard days. It’s pushing through pain, learning from failure, and continuing forward even when progress feels slow. It’s also about lifting others up along the way. I’ve learned that some of the most meaningful moments in life come from helping someone else believe in themselves again. Through love, faith, and service to others, I hope to make a positive impact in the world. I want to use my journey—not just the victories, but the struggles too—to encourage others to keep going. If I can help even one person feel stronger, more confident, or less alone in their journey, then I will consider that a success.

My name is Zoe, and I am a powerlifter, student, and someone who has learned that strength is not just measured by what you can lift, but by what you can overcome. Powerlifting has become a huge part of my life, but it didn’t come without challenges. I’ve dealt with injuries, setbacks, and moments where I had to question whether I could keep going. There were times when training hurt, not just physically but mentally too. Still, those experiences shaped me into someone who understands resilience on a deeper level. Through everything, my faith has been a steady foundation for me. It has helped me stay grounded when things felt uncertain and reminded me that I’m never going through challenges alone. Alongside that, my family, coaches, teammates, and community have played a huge role in my journey. They’ve supported me, believed in me, and pushed me to keep going even when I doubted myself. I’ve learned that having a strong support system can make all the difference in someone’s life, especially when they’re going through something difficult. Because of my own experiences with injuries and recovery, I’ve developed a strong passion for understanding the human body and helping others heal. That’s why I want to become a physical therapist. I want to be the person who helps someone take their first steps after an injury, regain strength after a setback, or rebuild confidence when they feel like they’ve lost it. I know what it feels like to be sidelined and frustrated, and I want to be able to support others through that process with patience and understanding. My long-term goal is to open my own gym and rehabilitation center. But I don’t just want it to be a place focused on physical training. I want it to be a space where people feel safe, encouraged, and supported no matter where they are in their journey. Whether someone is an athlete trying to get back to competition, or someone simply trying to feel stronger and healthier in their everyday life, I want them to feel seen and valued. I want it to be a place that focuses on overall well-being, physical, mental, and emotional. To me, true strength is showing up on the hard days. It’s pushing through pain, learning from failure, and continuing forward even when progress feels slow. It’s also about lifting others up along the way. I’ve learned that some of the most meaningful moments in life come from helping someone else believe in themselves again. Through love, faith, and service to others, I hope to make a positive impact in the world. I want to use my journey, not just the victories, but the struggles too, while encouraging others to keep going. If I can help even one person feel stronger, more confident, or less alone in their journey, then I will consider that a success.

Coach Kenneth Simmons has been an integral and formative part of my journey as a powerlifter. As a coach, he is assertive and attentive, but in a way that made me feel supported, not controlled. He allowed me to take the lead in my training and trusted me to understand my own body and progress, while still being there to guide and push me when I needed it. What stood out most was that he didn’t treat girls in the sport as an afterthought. He focused on building strong female lifters and made it clear that strength isn’t just for boys. As a girl dad himself, he really understood how important it is for young women to feel confident and capable competing in a sport like powerlifting. He always showed respect for my commitment and work ethic, and at times it honestly felt like he was in awe of what I could do. That strong belief in me helped me invest in myself more. Because of his coaching and support, I was able to reach a level where I earned a college scholarship in my sport. This is a step toward building my future and my sports career. College is also important to me because it’s the path that will help me become a physical therapist. Powerlifting has taught me how much I care about movement, strength, recovery, and helping the body perform at its best, and I want to turn that into a career where I can help other people heal and get stronger after injuries. Going to college will give me the education and hands-on training I need to understand the human body at a deeper level. I want to learn how injuries happen, how rehabilitation works, and how to guide people through recovery in a way that helps them regain confidence in themselves the same way I gained confidence in my own abilities through sports. A college education will also challenge me to grow mentally and emotionally, not just academically. It will teach me discipline, patience, and responsibility. I value these skills as I know I’ll need while working with people who are relying on me for their recovery. For me, education isn’t just about getting a degree. It’s about building the foundation for the career I want to pursue and becoming someone who can help others rebuild their strength, just like Coach Simmons helped me build mine.