On April 19, came the end to one of the best NCAA runs in recent history as the UCLA bowed out to the eventual champions, the Oklahoma Sooners. But while even in their defeat, Jordan Chiles and UCLA flaunted the sheer virtuosity and talent in their midst, there was one young gymnast who took a solemn oath on Saturday. The oath? To help the sport and the athletes associated with it get better medical treatment to make a quick turnaround. Now this might be a tough goal, but she’s ready. After all, what fuels her is something personal. But who is she?

Well, it is none other than Emily Lee. After she completed her fourth year, there were rumors about her fifth-year eligibility. And sure enough, putting an end to all the speculations, Lee confirmed that she was indeed eligible for her fifth year. Pursuing Physiological Sciences, Lee stated back in February 2025, “I have a fifth year, and I want to take it, obviously, at UCLA. I’m looking into other programs that are not necessarily phy sci, but things that I’m interested in.”

Now, a gymnast taking such keen interest in healing medications is not something that is commonly seen. However, Lee has a deep-rooted cause to do so. She was forcibly exposed to the medical world when her younger sister fell ill. Being diagnosed with cancer, Lee lost her little sister in one of the most tragic incidents. And all this happened when Lee was just a 12-year-old girl! Battling with leukemia, her 3-year-old sister succumbed to the fight. And that’s when Lee took an oath to heal more and more people in her lifetime. 

“The biggest moment of wanting to enter the medical field was when I lost my sister to cancer really young,” said Lee. Although she kept aside her affinity towards medicine in the first few years of gymnastics, Lee is now balancing both her careers in full flow. Having dealt with a lot of injuries during her career, Lee wanted to help athletes get back to peak physical fitness as soon as possible.

“I want to work with athletes in the future,” Lee said. “To get them back to what they love doing, just like how my PTs did for me.” Surely, while this does sound like a noble prospect, it is much easier said than done. But Emily Lee is carrying it off in style. 

Emily Lee balances books and beams with unstoppable drive

Before the campus stirs awake, Emily Lee is already deep into her routine. She is training before sunrise, pushing through another rigorous day of classes, and preparing for high-stakes competitions. For many, juggling a demanding academic major with the relentless rhythm of collegiate gymnastics would seem unmanageable. But for Lee, it’s a challenge she not only embraces but thrives in.

Balancing lectures, study sessions, and exams with weekly practices, travel, and meets requires relentless discipline. Lee makes it work—often by arriving early to the gym or shifting practice around her academic schedule. Emily herself shared, “I’ve learned to work hard in gymnastics and to always persevere, so I always try to implement that into school.”

Her coaches backed her all the way, even joining her before dawn or adjusting training to accommodate her classes. Even amid bouts of impostor syndrome, especially at the country’s top-ranked public university, Lee’s tenacity never wavers. She’s earned WCGA Scholastic All-American honors every year and made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice.

With plans to pursue a master’s in physiological sciences while using her final year of eligibility at UCLA, Emily Lee is determined to shatter the student-athlete stereotype. “(One takeaway of) my collegiate career is to not put myself in a box of one thing,” she said. And she’s indeed living proof of that mindset.