Alumni Update: Lucy Ennis
6/12/2021
Lucy Ennis competed as a Gopher from 2009-2012 and was known for her beautiful bars and beam routines along with a powerful vault. Ennis earned numerous accolades throughout her career, including three Academic All-Big Ten honors. Read more about her time after donning the Maroon and Gold in this Alumni Spotlight.
What led you to the University of Minnesota?
I grew up in Roseville, Minnesota and loved the idea of competing for my home state. I am close to my family (I have four younger siblings) and wanted to be able to share the experience with them. I was also attracted to the husband/wife coaching duo of Jim and Meg Stephenson, the head coaches at the time. They really valued and supported the student-athlete as a whole, both in the gym and out.
You graduated in 2012, what have you been doing since your time with the Gophers?
After graduating, I returned to nursing school, attending the University of Minnesota’s second degree RN Master’s program. I have been working as a pediatric nurse since then. I also married, and my husband and I lived in Washington DC for 5 years which was a fun adventure. We are now living back in St. Paul and I currently work at Gillette Children’s Hospital.
Have you been able to watch and stay connected to the current team? What advice would you give to them?
Unfortunately having lived out of state for a while, I have not been able to keep up with the team as much as I would have liked. Some advice I would give the girls is to work hard, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Always train and compete for the love of the sport and be confident in the beauty of your gymnastics; it is a gift to all those who watch you!
What life lessons did you learn at the University of Minnesota?
During my time as a student athlete, I tended to live under a cloud of fearing I might fail, both academically and in the gym. I learned that fear and anxiety are poor motivators and though they may seem to make you work harder in the moment, in the end they not only inhibit true growth and performance, they can sap the enjoyment out of the journey and experiences as well. I have learned to accept and be free in front of failure and mistakes!
Are you still involved in gymnastics?
I am not directly involved with gymnastics these days, but my nieces and the daughters of my friends are getting into it, so I get to enjoy their discovery of the sport and talk gymnastics with them!
As a Minnesota native, what was it like to represent your home state?
I loved competing for my home state, especially as I felt I was able to inspire young girls competing in the local area gymnastics clubs to dream of becoming a Gopher too!
