If I went and told somebody from Morgan Park High School or the places I grew up like , “ Hey , I ’ m about to go win an Olympic medal in bobsledding ,” they ’ re gonna be like “ Girl , sit down somewhere ” Sometimes you have to show people . MADE : True . And be comfortable know that they ’ ll get it when they see it . AE : And it ’ s not what everyone has to get . What God has for you , it ’ s for you . And so , you have to trust that . You have to fall back on your faith , fall back on your hard work and really push forward with that . It ’ s not going to be for everybody . But then , once you pursue it and once you actually bring it into fruition then everybody gets it . Just kind of sharing my story and trying to empower girls through my story and through the struggles and journey has been a goal of mine . I ’ m working on building a foundation myself . It ’ s been a slow process , but we ’ re making a lot of progress . MADE : It sounds like it all comes back to the idea of trusting the process . AE : Trust the journey . I have so many friends that pursued sports on a collegiate level , high school level , but it wasn ’ t their end all , be all . They ’ re now lawyers and doctors . I pursued track and field and it made a way for me to get a degree . I ’ m working on my Master ’ s degree , and then I ’ m also an Olympian in an entirely new different sport . Sometimes you can ’ t just look at everything in black and white . It ’ s a journey . And I think sports help kids to develop core characteristics - determination - all those things you can use in life , let alone the workforce or in sports . So my thing is empowering kids through sports and kind of showing them , “ Listen , I ’ m proof , I went to Morgan Park High School , I ’ m from the city of Chicago , I went University of Illinois ... I ’ m proof that you can do whatever you want to do .” So just trust the journey . Sports give kids a sense of belonging , like things to work for … all those things . Really empowering kids through sports is a big thing for me . MADE : What do you think is required to be a game changer and how do you continue to change the game - as a woman in Chicago and as a leader ? AE : The biggest thing that needs to be involved in order to be a game changer is confidence . If you don ’ t believe in yourself , you can ’ t convince me to believe in you . Confidence shows . It ’ s an aura , it ’ s a vibe , it ’ s an energy - and it rubs off on people . I came into that sport ( bobsledding ) literally not knowing anyone , not knowing anything . But you couldn ’ t tell me nothing . I just grew up to a point where I knew my confidence had to be there in order to go pursue anything in life . You go through problems when you fall down , where you ’ re at rock bottom and I think that ’ s where you really build your character and you really build that heart and that strong will . Some stuff you can ’ t teach , so you gotta get that from within . Nobody can give it to you , pass it on , instill it or anything like that . Confidence and having that certain demeanor is really a big factor in order to be a game changer . You can ’ t go anywhere with it . And it shows . It doesn ’ t mean you know all the answers or you ’ re a know-it-all . It ’ s not cocky . But if you don ’ t believe in yourself , nobody will . You gotta be your biggest supporter , you gotta be your biggest cheerleader , biggest critic . And so , becoming one with myself and really growing in that aspect was really something that helped me become a game changer .
Photography : Chelsey Sincerray
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