After nine years of gymnastics and thousands of hours spent practicing, all of senior Laura Oh’s hard work has finally paid off. In February, she committed to University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a full-ride scholarship.

“I visited many schools, but once I visited this one, I knew I had to go here,” said Oh. “The coaches and other gymnasts were beyond nice and treated me like family.”

While Oh received a full-ride scholarship, the recruiting process was very competitive. “There are only about 40 Division I (DI) schools for gymnastics, which is very small compared to other sports,” she said. “Only the top one percent are able to go DI.”

Due to the limited number of schools and intense competition, Oh reached out to many schools. She started contacting coaches and emailing them videos of her skills in freshman year. By the end of her senior year, she had sent over 100 videos to different coaches.

During her senior year, the University of Nebraska reached out to her and recruited her to be part of their team, and offered her a full ride in return.

“Being able to accomplish my childhood dream and to continue something that means so much to me,” she said. “It makes the 22 hours a week of practice for six years and not having much of a social life all worth it.”

While she feels a little nervous about being far from home, Oh is excited for college. “I am looking forward to competing with an amazing team and having many fans come watch and support me and the team that aren’t just my parents,” she said.