Buff & Blue Forever: Anna Warhol

Anna Warhol's already-busy spring schedule got even more crowded when she was accepted into NASA's L'SPACE Virtual Academy.

The new opportunity meant many days this semester started with a morning GW gymnastics practice, continued with a few hours in the virtual classroom and then finished working via Zoom with a group of fellow students from around the country on a proposal for an ultra-light antenna that might be used in space.

Understandably, Warhol's balancing act demanded a keen level of organization and a strong team behind the scenes.

"It was not an easy feat, but it was something that I really wanted to be able to do," Warhol said. "If you really want it bad enough, there are people out there who are going to support you to do it."

As she reaches graduation, Warhol leaves behind an impressive legacy of achievement.

The Poland, Ohio, native was an All-EAGL performer who helped the Buff and Blue qualify for a pair of NCAA Regionals while thriving academically as a Biomedical Engineering major who became the first two-time EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the program's decorated history under Head Coach Margie Foster-Cunningham.

Along the way, Warhol's can-do spirit lifted everyone around her, especially during this unprecedented season. The captain's steady leadership made a difference, Foster-Cunningham said, while navigating new COVID-19 protocols and unexpected obstacles.

"This year was so revealing about people, and to see somebody rise like that was a joy," Foster-Cunningham said. "Anna was just incredible. It wasn't easy for her at all, but she had the discipline to be able to stay focused on her academics and stay focused on her team and stay diligent with the protocols and be a leader in that area and really remain having a likable presence amongst her peers while she was leading."

Warhol came to GW in August of 2017 with lofty goals, and she followed through every step of the way.

With guidance from Biomedical Engineering professor Dr. Jason Zara, Warhol came up with a plan for academic success. She was able to lean on alumni like Alexsis Petrikis and Jillian Winstanley for advice as she plotted a future in the field.

It helped that classmate Katya Karpova was navigating a similar path.

"It was really great having someone there to push back and forth with me," Warhol said. "When I was having an off-day, she was able to pick me up. When she was having an off-day, I was able to pick her up."

While taking her gymnastics to new heights, Warhol was able to make the most of what the Biomedical Engineering program had to offer. She spent three years assisting with research in Dr. Igor Efimov's lab, where she found a mentor in scientist Sharon George.

This year, Warhol's focus turned to the L'SPACE program, a partnership between NASA and Arizona State University. She was part of the Mission Concept Academy in the fall to learn the basics of the space industry before putting that knowledge into practice this spring via the NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience Academy.

Thanks to the success of its proposal for the space antenna, Warhol's team has earned a grant to expand upon its proposal with proof-of-concept research. Following graduation, she plans to balance the project with a full-time job as a research and development engineer at Procter & Gamble based in Cincinnati.

As she heads into the professional world, Warhol has already found that her experience as a gymnast helps working in a similarly-competitive environment.

"I think being a student-athlete just prepares you on a whole different level," Warhol said. "Beyond the time management, I have learned so many lessons throughout my career, from Margie to my club coaches in high school. Just things that you don't get when you're not a student-athlete about teamwork, about growth. I'm really appreciative of all of that."

Of course, this gymnastics season brought new lessons amid tests no one had faced before.

Foster-Cunningham points to March 12 at Towson when her gymnasts found out they would be unable to compete due to COVID-19 contact tracing just before the start of the meet.

Warhol was the one to speak up with the encouraging words her teammates needed. It's moments like that, as much as her excellence in competition and in the classroom, why the captain was presented the program's highest honor, the Lindsey Ferris Award.

"Anna didn't hesitate to rally people," Foster-Cunningham said. "At the lowest point, she knew as a leader to pull them together. You can't teach somebody that. It's just intuitive."

Following a roller-coaster regular season, Warhol was proud of the Buff and Blue's performance at the EAGL Championship, where she led the way on vault and posted a career-high 9.850 on floor as part of a season-best team score of 195.800.

She said the strong finish amid trying circumstances was a testament to the group's collective attitude from the instant they got word that the 2020 postseason would be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think that you can sum it up as thankful and hungry," Warhol said. "We didn't get to end the previous year the way we wanted to – It was cut short. Going into this year, we also knew that it could be cut short at any time, so we were very thankful for every opportunity that we were given and we were going to take advantage of it."

Going forward, Warhol is excited for the chance to give back to the program and impact the next generation of gymnasts in the same way that she's been helped by so many in Foggy Bottom and beyond.

It's a family that's helped her find balance, even as her schedule got more and more crowded over the past four years.

"Being a part of GW gymnastics makes you want to be your best in every aspect," Warhol said. "Having those girls around me continuing to push me, in and out of the gym, it made me a better person, it made me a better athlete, it made me a better student.

"At the end of it all, I'm just thankful for all the people who were there to support me."

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