Jennifer has always been a very active and outgoing person. She competed in gymnastics from childhood which, along with her bouncy and playful personality, led to the extreme sport of competitive cheerleading. At the age of 20, while competing nationally in college on a club all-star team, she collided with a male teammate. He landed on her neck and she was rendered a quadriplegic. Since that day she has learned to live independently, taught adaptive aerobics, coached all-star cheerleading, graduated with the highest honors with a B.S. in Sports Management, and has mentored others with spinal cord injuries across the country. Jennifer loves kayaking, reading, cooking and all mediums of the arts. She has competed in half-marathon hand-cycling races. She is working on a masters degree in social work at USC, where she hopes to later empower adults and children, with a broad range of needs, who want to build a thriving life for themselves.