PUSHING FORWARD: GABBY’S JOURNEY ON AND OFF THE FIELD

MARCELA DELGADO

Director of Operations & Strategic Affairs

Chaotic, athletic, nerdy, learning-challenged, queer, competitive, and disabled. Those are the exact words that Gabriella Sheffield uses to describe herself these days. What you’ll also learn from speaking to her is that she loves to hit people, hard.

A current third-season U of A Women’s Rugby team forward, Gabby doesn’t shy away from saying that she is always happier when she is competing in high impact sports. She learned all about competition and resiliency when she was a freshman at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington. “I had always played it safe,” she says about that time in her life. She knew she wanted to play the safety position on the football team, but there was no precedent for females to join. That didn’t stop her from trying out and subsequently getting the school district to formally change the rules to allow women to play. “None of the boys talked to me for the first three months, until finally one asked me to get him some water, and the other told me that girls shouldn’t be allowed to play.” None of that stopped her. She graduated after playing for four years on the team, making her mark as the first woman in a 100-year-old football program to do so. Today, football is now a co-ed sport in her hometown, and she knows of five other women who have followed her path.

Three years into her experience at the University of Arizona, Gabby continues to see rugby as her “built-in way to interact with people and show courage.” Rugby makes her so happy, that despite the time commitment and sacrifices, she says it is entirely worth it. She has practiced how to manage her priorities with the help of her SALT Center Student Support Specialist, Lupe Thompson. “I chose the SALT Center because I saw myself in the students, and I knew that I needed a place that specialized in teaching me how to best learn.” Gabby knew that she would need to find a way to work with her anxiety and OCD, both of which she was diagnosed with her senior year of high school. “I started experiencing tremors, I couldn’t even tie my shoes, couldn’t take my AP tests, and my entire learning process was affected.” This is when she received an additional diagnosis of Myoclonus-dystonia syndrome, a rare movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle jerks and muscle contractions.

Gabby’s experience with doctors not being able to give her clear answers regarding her disability created a sense of empowerment in her. Gabby is now on track to graduate next year with a degree in Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies and is routinely recognized as one of our frequent 4.0 GPA students. Gabby picked this academic track because of her own medical journey and wants to help others find answers that she struggled to get herself.

Gabby says the SALT Center has been a critical component of her academic success. Her relationship with Lupe is so important that she considers her someone that she can fall back to when she needs to work through tough things. “Our relationship has meant the world to me, Lupe is always in my corner and makes me feel less homesick when I’m 1,500 miles away from my family.” Lupe has worked with Gabby for two years now, and has been consistently impressed by her academic resilience and personal drive. Lupe remarks, “Gabby demonstrates both mental and physical toughness and balances a demanding schedule with grace, courage and composure.”

Gabby’s love of learning has also translated into a love of teaching. She has been an Undergraduate Learning Assistant for a calculus class where she gets to help other students from the SALT Center and says the opportunity is so rewarding. She never thought that her early struggles with math and science would find her here, teaching others how to learn and aiming to pursue medical school in the future. Gabby also has hopes to travel back to a community in Brazil where she would like to use her language and STEM skills to do research on rare neurological disorders.

Gabby’s success can’t be described without mentioning her family. Her parents, grandparents, and siblings are at the center of her world, “My mom exemplifies self-advocacy. She has always helped me with my medical and educational needs.” This is the same mom who attempted to bribe her to not join the football team back in high school, “My mom wanted to buy me two pairs of Lululemon pants if I would agree to not join!”

Needless to say, Gabby has proven to her family, hometown, and U of A community that you can persevere and overcome obstacles by believing in yourself and your abilities. We are so proud of all Gabby has accomplished and look forward to what she will accomplish next.

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