Stories of Strength

Stories of Strength: Bella Ciolfi

Bella is a Division 1 gymnast at Western Michigan University who faced numerous injuries during her high school years. In this video she shares her journey and beneficial strategies that helped her overcome her own hardships through injuries and the recruiting process.

Stories of Strength: Ava LaBrecque

Ava is a current sophomore at Sacred Heart University where she competes for their club gymnastics team. From a very young age Ava persevered through selective mutism, and she shares a variety of strategies she used and opportunities she took part in to overcome this; Ava additionally faced two major injuries that greatly impacted her journey and she shares advice for working through this adversity.

Stories of Strength: Sami Dalbec

Sami is a senior in high school who overcame retinoblastoma (a rare type of eye cancer) as a young child. Sami describes her experience navigating having lost her eye due to this and experiencing impacts on her personal functioning and sometimes facing negative comments from others. She provides insight and advice for others who may face physical or medical differences.

Disclaimer: EmpowHer Resilience resources are intended to offer free and accessible supplemental tools to promote and strengthen resilience, but they are not a suitable replacement for clinical treatment or diagnostic assessment for mental health concerns. If indicated, you are encouraged to please contact your primary care provider or a licensed mental health practitioner for individualized medical and/or counseling support.