Hannah Goldstein '08 just finished her career in gymnastics this past Saturday, as the Bears took eighth place at the ECAC Championships at William and Mary, but she's already ready to move on to the next big thing. In addition to outstanding athletic accomplishments - as co-captain, she earned career-high scores on the bars (9.625) and the floor exercise (9.275) this season - Goldstein was recently accepted to Columbia's medical school, where she plans to study to become a pediatric neurosurgeon.
But the list of accomplishments doesn't stop there. Goldstein was recently named ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second time in her career. She holds a 4.0 GPA as a pre-med neuroscience concentrator and serves as both a Meiklejohn adviser and a writing fellow. There isn't much she doesn't do. But she likes it that way and that is why she has been named this week's Herald Athlete of the Week.
Herald: When did you start doing gymnastics?
Goldstein: I started taking classes when I was five, and I've been competing since I was nine.
Did you ever play any other sports?
When I was younger, I did swimming one day a week and ballet and a whole mess of other things, but I gave up all of those once gymnastics got more intense.
Was there anything you wish you could have done?
I definitely wouldn't give up my experience with gymnastics for anything at this point but I definitely gave up a lot of things for it. ... There's no one sport I can pick out and say, "I wish I could have done that instead of gymnastics," but if I had to do a different sport as a kid, I would have picked a more team-focused sport. Before college, gymnastics is primarily an individual sport. One of the things I love most about college gymnastics is that it becomes a team sport.
How did you choose Brown? Did you look at other schools?
I only looked at schools that had gymnastics teams. And that narrowed it down because there aren't that many programs at good liberal arts schools. By the time I got into Brown I knew I wanted to go here.
My sister actually went to Brown. She was a senior when I was a freshman. So I was familiar with the school but I was hesitant to pick it because of that as well.
Did you always know you wanted to go to medical school?
Yeah, I did, actually. I was the little five-year-old that was like, "I'm going to be a neurosurgeon when I grow up."
Do you ever regret doing so many different things at Brown?
I feel like for the most part, no. I mean, there are definitely times where it's stressful. ... I probably give up more sleep than I should. I guess what's important to me is that I enjoy everything I do, and as long as you enjoy everything you do, it definitely makes it easier and makes it worth it.
What has been your favorite year at Brown? Why?
That's a tough one. I don't know if I can pick one; they're all so different, which is something I didn't really expect. Each year really has been different.
Are you sad about finishing your athletic career?
It's definitely bittersweet. I don't think it's fully hit me yet - we just finished this past Saturday. Gym is a funny sport, my body is ... ready to be done. But it's definitely been something that's been a big part of my life for so long. I'm definitely going to miss it and it's going to be weird. ... It'll be nice to have free time and enjoy senior spring.
