Blog 3: Jaycie Ponce

Jaycie Ponce was one of the athletes that I was most excited to speak to. Jaycie is the epitome of a student-athlete. Jaycie is defying the odds stacked against her. She has had a unique opportunity to participate in the first cohort of Piedmont University’s speech-language pathology program. Being one of the founders of this program has allowed Jaycie to chase what she loves most. Jaycie is a stellar athlete and a model student. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree while continuing to participate in both cross country and track and field. She is continuing her success athletically and academically. Jaycie mentions that her involvement with the first cohort is the start of something big. Piedmont continues to establish successful academic programs and benefit the community. Jaycie mentions that a lot of the stigma surrounding athletes stems from preconceived notions of people believing that athletes are only at schools for athletics. Do you know of anyone who has a preconceived notion towards athletes? What do you believe that it stems from? For Jaycie, she believes that it comes from the idea that non-athletes believe that student-athletes are solely here for athletics. Jaycie is a record holder and the first of many to come through the speech-language pathology program.