To the Menlo Park City Council: I understand that budget cuts during this unusual time are necessary, but allow me to explain why I believe that Menlo Park Gymnastics is worth every penny of the city budget. As a young child, my parents tried to sign me up for every sport available -- soccer, ice skating, swimming, volleyball, you name it -- but the only sport they could convince me to continue for more than a season was gymnastics. At Menlo Park Gymnastics, the kindness and genuine care for my development not only as an athlete, but also as a fully functioning child, shaped me into who I am today. Savina Krakowski, invested countless upon countless hours in teaching me the fundamentals of gymnastics, but also talking to all of the gymnasts about how to have healthy lifestyles: eating fruits and vegetables, considering our school work to be the number one priority, and developing friendships outside of gymnastics. How many coaches do you know who encourage kids to prioritize school and relationships outside of their sport? Despite her balanced approach to developing our athletic abilities, Savina coached some of the best students on the peninsula, who have gone on to be top gymnasts in private gyms and colleges. This is extremely impressive given the size of the Menlo Park Gymnastics program. When we got injured, as is bound to happen in any sport, Savina always encouraged us to take ample time off to fully heal. She taught me how to listen to my body -- and since then I have been able to compete in other sports successfully (in December I placed second place in a 25 kilometer trail race!) while avoiding injury and being successful in my career. After I quit gymnastics at age 15 because I grew six inches in a year and couldn't do back flips anymore, I started coaching younger kids. I spent three years coaching under the guidance of Karen Mihalek, as well as Savina and other coaches. Although at the time I considered this to just be a fun job, this job ended up being essential to my future. 1) I was able to pay some of my college tuition using money I saved at Menlo Park Gymnastics when I went to Dartmouth College from 2014-2018. I'm not sure I would have been able to balance classes and a part-time job at the college if I had not also had savings from Menlo Park Gymnastics to support me. 2) After college, I got a job working as a federal contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency, where I handled large federal projects such as the regulation of ozone depleting substances. Although this job had little to do with gymnastics, during my interview my employers were most interested in my job experience with Menlo Park Gymnastics because as a gymnastics coach I demonstrated my ability to manage people and communicate with parents. Despite a fancy Ivy League degree and environmental science research experience, I'm not sure I would have gotten this job had it not been for my experience at Menlo Park Gymnastics. I am now a PhD student in Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Washington, and I look back fondly at the days of working at Menlo Park Gymnastics as an experience that set me on the course that led me here today. I learned so much from these experiences -- from being a gymnast to a coach -- that have made me who I am. I know that budget cuts are difficult, but I hope that you will consider other parts of the Menlo Park city budget before cutting the gymnastics program. Hundreds of kids receive vital experiences in building strength, flexibility, an appetite for exercise, as well as countless other life lessons. I truly believe that it would be massive mistake to cut this program. Thank you for reading my message and best of luck to you in navigating this pandemic. Ursula Jongebloed Graduate Student Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington 419 ATG Building Seattle, WA 98195 ujongebl_at_(domainremoved) https://www.linkedin.com/in/ursula-jongebloed/ Received on Mon May 18 2020 - 13:57:58 PDT
