Ilona Maher has had her ways of decimating stereotypes. At 28, she can earn an Olympic medal for the rugby sevens, breaking the jinx. She can amass a large fanbase on her social media handles and share her daily deeds with them. She can topple the so-called masculine tag labeled on her and earn a ticket as a competitor for the final of Dancing With the Stars. The athlete even can go past the stereotype without caring for her stature and can say, “I want you all to take a look at all the different body types on display. All body types matter.” But folks, these are not the end of surprises from the Burlington born. She has had a few more things. 

One such thing is related to Maher’s academic career. As per her mother, she had multiple opportunities in the educational shift. In fact, she was well ahead of her compatriots. But how? A closer look may quench the curiosity. 

Ilona Maher had the rare opportunity to follow her dream during her academic stint 

Working as a health professional, Mieneke Maher has had a long experience down her professional line. However, she also remembers her daughter’s powerful urge to follow in her footsteps once. How? As per Mieneke, Ilona Maher opted for the nurse program once. Rather, in her conversation in Got It From My Momma podcast, the Dutch-American said, “She [Ilona] actually was admitted into the University of Vermont’s nursing program, which is one of the toughest undergrad programs to get into is nursing.” But her engagement with rugby didn’t let Ilona’s feet settle in one place. Soon she reached Norwich to enter the rugby team and complete her nursing course. But Norwich had not been her forte. So again, she had to shift. 

This time, Ilona Maher landed in Quinnipiac. The university secured her study and practice at the same time. Furthermore, the courses were funded by NCAA D1. So the pressure had never followed her there. Additionally, when she entered the Olympic program, Ilona already had her BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). Thus, she ticked the box on her wishlist. A story like this should have concluded here. But for Ilona, you can expect a little more. 

In the meantime, something amazing happened. Because of her inclusion in the Olympic program, the rugby pro earned an offer to complete her undergrad. The US Olympic authority availed of such facilities after inking deals with DeVry and several other universities. Was there any special reason behind it? In the conversation, Mieneke explained, “There’s a lot of amazing athletes who, you know, put their academics on hold to attain and to pursue their dream of Olympic glory. So they have, you know, many of Ilona’s teammates were pursuing their undergrad.” But her daughter already had the BSN degree in her hand. So she had to choose something else. 

Meanwhile, her family intervened and suggested something phenomenal. In the conversation, Mieneke shed light on this. She eventually elaborated, “If they’re going to pay for it, why don’t you get it? So she also has a Master’s in Business Administration.” That poses Ilona Maher as a nurse who has a business degree. Isn’t it something commendable? It certainly is. And nothing would have ever happened without Maher’s support. Rather, the family has always been there with her. Proof?

The family lives the moment together 

Ilona Maher doesn’t live in Burlington anymore. Rather, her professional engagement has shifted her abode to San Diego. But has she forgotten her roots? You can judge. How? She had a few days off after the Paris Olympics to change her setup. The schedule had already been shaped. According to that, she had to join Dancing With the Stars in a few days. But the Olympian didn’t let the chance of a reunion go. She appeared in her hometown to soak up the emotions. In the meantime, the big Maher family showed up together to welcome her. In Paris as well, the family rushed to. 

All they wanted was to cheer for the home girl. The experience found life in Mieneke’s narration. In one of her interactions, she laid out, “Just watching the team and your daughter run out onto the field is exhilarating. And I just can’t right now; I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for me to watch her run out into an Olympic stadium.” Ultimately, she spent the time walking in the stands. But signing in the stadium had still been essential for her. They actually didn’t want to miss watching Ilona Maher chase her dream in front of their eyes. That’s how the athlete rolls always, taking the blessing from her elder ones.