Revolutionary Tales - Delaney DeHaan

At age 5, she opened on Christmas morning a box containing a hot pink leotard. Her mother, Rachel, told her the magic words: "OK, now you are ready for gymnastics."

"It's been a wild ride ever since," DeHaan said.

A self-described highly energetic kid, DeHaan couldn't get enough of the sport. Being confident, exuberant and fearless, she loved being able to shock people with what she could do in the air, but she also enjoyed the sport's discipline. While her energy always left her wanting to do the next fun thing, gymnastics gave her a diverse range of events, each being what she calls "creative" and "beautiful."

Her parents encouraged her and her siblings to pursue a diverse range of activities and, no matter what, always treat people with respect. Those values helped her shape her identity beyond gymnastics and also become a more focused athlete.

"I think there's a well-roundedness to it-understanding you're not just a gymnast as an identity.," Kory DeHaan said. "She seemed to really grasp the empathy side of things for other folks and what they were going through, and she came alongside that with a really cool energy and spirit. She always has a smile on her face, and she brings that to the people around her."

Service is central to her life. In the past two years at GW, she has mentored three young gymnasts through weekly 30-minute sessions, addressing challenges such as injuries, performance anxiety and preseason setbacks through personalized mental strategies.

DeHaan has a leadership role in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and she also serves as a co-captain of GW's Dream on 3 chapter, an organization that gives kids and young adults with disabilities or health challenges an opportunity to live out their ultimate sports dreams.

In February, DeHaan helped organize a weekend for a local teenager to spend with GW Athletics. Along with her Dream on 3 co-captains, she built an itinerary that included joining the GW Cheer team at a men's basketball game, a pizza party and movie theater outing with student-athletes from various teams as well as a behind-the-scenes experience with the GW gymnastics team at a meet.

"For 20-year-olds to have that level of emotional intelligence and leadership was so impressive," the teen's father said shortly afterward.

Leadership is a defining trait for DeHaan, who has also pursued digital marketing internships and opportunities at the university.

In March, she was selected to attend the NCAA's Inaugural Legacy Lab, where she traveled to Indianapolis to join 38 fellow sophomore and junior student-athletes from across the country for a weekend of brainstorming and building a toolbox for turning an athletic career into innovative entrepreneurship.

DeHaan also organized and led a virtual presentation for GW's nearly 400 student-athletes focused on the foundations of strategic Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) in collegiate athletics.

Looking back, Liu says his time at GW-"the best decision I could have made"-reframed his perspective on his parents' own journey. His challenges-from that first disorienting night on campus to charting a path no one in his family had taken before-gave him a glimpse into the uncertainty his parents faced as they began new lives in a new country. "I came to understand their struggles," he reflected. "And I came to understand how important this was to them."

For a student-athlete who loves to fly, she is rooted in character that will guide her far beyond GW. But make no mistake. Her story at GW isn't finished. "This whole experience at GW has been life-changing," she said. "The way I was treated here-the standard of excellence, how we carry ourselves, how we treat each other, how the coaches valued me and made me feel part of a family, I would hope I can be part of continuing that for other gymnasts. Even being a small part of that for four years is really special."

Then, she paused and cracked a little wry smile.

"Well, maybe five years."