Scholar Stories: U-M Traditions Rekindle Dayton's Love of Gymnastics
1/20/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Conor Stemme
Anna Dayton has not had the "typical" student-athlete experience.
Dayton started her college career as a normal University of Michigan student interested in computer science, but she then walked on to the women's gymnastics team at the start of her sophomore year. Now, she is a senior majoring in cognitive science and a team captain.
Academics have always played a role in Dayton's life through high school, the recruiting process, and now at Michigan. While being recruited, Dayton always put academics first and did the same when she decided to take a break from the sport due to injuries and other factors. She chose Michigan to pursue her academic goals -- not her athletic goals.
Having always been interested in computers and technology, Dayton arrived at Michigan ready to major in computer science. But after more exploration and discussion with her advisor, she discovered cognitive science, a major that allows her to not only pursue her interests but also to expand her knowledge into a new area.
"I focus on the computation side of it so that I could get the technical background I wanted, but it also has part of human behavior which includes how your brain processes information and the use of technology," she said.
While working to complete her major, Dayton also is working on two minors. Her first, art and design, is an area of interest she gained in high school while working on her school's yearbook and continues for the Michigan Athletic Department. Her second minor is in entrepreneurship, something that allows her to gain business knowledge for the future.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Dayton last year earned was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, a distinction that requires a minimum 3.7 grade-point average.
"Academics are a huge priority for me," she said. "I have always challenged myself in the classroom and then in athletics, as well. Our team always talk about how our academics needs to be a priority, so it was really exciting to see all of the work we put into academics pay off for all of us."
Dayton was not a member of the team her freshman year, but because of Michigan and being around Michigan Athletics, she found her love for the sport again.
"I was in awe of all the traditions and the pride everyone has within athletics," Dayton said. "This is definitely what drew me back into the sport and helped me find my reason of why I loved it."
She had competed in gymnastics since she was young, traveling an hour each way for daily practices while doing homework in the car. Dayton did not want to give up so easily on the sport she grew up on.
"I have always been told, and sort of live by, this quote: 'Only you have the power in any given moment to decide when and where your journey will end,'" she said. "With that being said, I think it just took some time for me to figure all that out and come to a point where I've felt like I was ready to do gymnastics again."
At the end of her freshman year, Dayton reached out to a club coach she knew to help her get back into training. That coach helped her not only get back into athletic shape, but also gymnastics shape as Dayton had not really done any gymnastics for more than a year.
After Dayton felt ready, she scheduled a meeting with Michigan head coach Bev Plocki and the rest of the coaching staff to discuss her thoughts about where she was at and what she wanted to do with gymnastics at Michigan. Dayton wanted to be involved in any way that she could. She started training with the team on the first day of classes for her sophomore year.
Thus far, she has been a part of the team for two seasons, including two Big Ten regular-season championships, one Big Ten championship and one NCAA Championships appearance, though she has not had the easiest path to competition lineups after some injuries. Still, she has become a valuable part of the team, evident by her appointment as captain alongside Anne Maxim and Abby Brenner.
"It was super rewarding knowing that my teammates and coaches had faith in my ability to lead this team," Dayton said. "I've been honored to be able to support them as a captain alongside Annie and Abby, and I am looking forward to continuing to make an impact throughout this season."
When Dayton is not busy with schoolwork or in the gym, she is heavily involved in the Michigan community. She is an intern with Michigan Athletics and has helped many teams with graphic design, social media and data. Her favorite project was working on the Week in Review for the @umichathletics account on Instagram, a task that required her to compile scores from the previous week and create graphics for use within Instagram Stories.
In the winter semester, it is easy for her to get lost in the day-to-day rigors of the gymnastics season, but doing that task allows her to stay engaged in the larger Michigan Athletics community.
Dayton also is a member of Mpowered, an entrepreneurship group on campus that helps startups and businesses grow. She is involved in different groups involved with sexual assault awareness and prevention, trying to help people find their voice and talking about the issue.
Outside of Michigan, Dayton had an internship with IBM last summer and was offered a full-time role after graduation as a design associate in Chicago. Despite that, she is still pursuing other options at IBM and is looking to go into the more specific field of user-experience design. Further down the road, she hopes to work for a startup and use her entrepreneurial skills to see that company grow.
With graduation looming in the spring, Dayton is taking full advantage of all that her final semester has to offer, whether it be in the gym, in the classroom, on Zoom or with friends.
"Michigan is definitely super special to me," she said. "Growing up, I was in awe of the pride, tradition and appreciation everyone has for the school. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities I've had -- athletically, academically and socially -- that have shaped who I am. I know I have found my home here and am incredibly fortunate every time I get to wear the block M."
