For any athlete, Oregon State Gymnastics is the ultimate dream—NIL rights, top-tier skills, insane crowds, and all the fame that comes with being part of such a legendary program. It’s Oregon State University (Beavers) Women’s Gymnastics—what’s not to love? Especially when you consider that NIL rights are a game-changer in the U.S. Look at athletes like Jade Carey, still crushing it, or Francesca Caso and Taylor DeVries, whose names are still buzzing. But there is one more gymnast who is still remembered!

Isis Lowery, the Australian gymnast who graduated in 2022, yet her name still rings out loud. But why did she choose OSU in the first place? Hailing from Melbourne, Lowery recently revealed a part of her journey that no one saw coming. She opened up about the unexpected reasons behind her life-changing decision, giving fans a glimpse into the moment that altered her path forever.

On March 29th, former Oregon State gymnast Isis Lowery shared an emotional video on YouTube, detailing her journey from Australia to the United States. It’s a journey that spanned 8,046 miles, one that changed her life and her perspective on gymnastics. She opened up about the moment she realized she wanted more than just local competition. “When I was about 7 years old, I started officially, and I was really committed to it. I started competing around 8, and ever since then, I realized that I wanted to go to the Olympics, and that was going to be my ultimate goal,” she said.

From that early age, she focused on making it to the top of the sport, and by 10, she was training in elite gymnastics. But as this gymnast got older, her vision expanded beyond just the Olympics. By the time she was 17, Isis had reached a crossroads. “I think I want to take this seriously and try to go to college,” she said, sharing the shift in her mindset. This decision came after years of hard work, but also after she had the opportunity to experience the U.S. gymnastics system firsthand.

She recalls, “I was fortunate I was able to do a few USA tours with my club gym when I was in like seventh and eighth grade. From there, I got to do a few visits to some schools, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I could do this.’” The idea of competing at a college level was something she had never considered before, especially growing up in Australia, where college sports are not the same as they are in the U.S.

The decision to leave her home country and pursue gymnastics in America was monumental, but it was also about more than just competing—it was about what America had to offer. “Having been born and raised in Australia, we don’t have anything like college sports,” the Aussie gymnast explained. “We have universities that we can go to and study, but we’re not usually traveling away from our hometown. We usually do it close to home and commute.”

Aussie gymnast Isis Lowery found her path at OSU

The Beavers bestowed this Aussie gymnast with multiple distinguished awards as she secured positions on the 2019 All-America Second Team for Floor Exercise while receiving All-Pac-12 Second Team. During the 2020 academic season, she received recognition by joining both the Pac-12 Winter Term Honor Roll and Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mentions.

She received the WCGA Scholastic All-American recognition in 2020. Aussie gymnast now understands that her U.S. move extended past gymnastics into the valuable life experience she obtained through American athletic support. In the same video, Isis revealed the biggest difference between gymnastics in Australia and the U.S. She shared, “I think the biggest difference is that here, there’s just a lot more opportunities.”

In Australia, if you don’t go elite or have aspirations for the Olympics, World Championships, or Commonwealth Games, it can sometimes feel like there aren’t many options beyond the sport. “If you don’t just want to stay at level 10 forever and you don’t want to go to the Olympics, it’s like, ‘Where do I go?‘” she explained. In contrast, the U.S. offers a clear path for gymnasts looking to continue their careers beyond elite-level competition, in college gymnastics.

“In America, you have the awesome opportunity to be able to go to college, and I think that’s exciting,” she added. A unique benefit that universities in the U.S. offer student athletes is competitive environments that create an exciting and large sporting atmosphere. Athletes need to select carefully from the several hundred schools across the United States, divided into D1, D2, and D3 divisions, as Isis explained.

Due to its broad scale, American gymnastic events host audience-filled facilities filled with enthusiastic fans. “There are thousands of people in the crowds you’re running out of tunnels, you’re high-fiving everyone. It’s just a really exciting atmosphere in college that you don’t always get to experience everywhere.” The unique athletic environment at American colleges enabled Isis to expand beyond her usual boundaries through its electrified sports spirit. Finally, this gymnast achieved what she wanted.