Scholar Stories: Perseverance, Focus Dwyer's Hallmarks in Short Time at U-M
3/17/2021 10:00:00 AM | Features, Spirit Department
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 Emma Levine
If at first you don't succeed, just keep trying.
It is a mantra that Deanna Dwyer, a sophomore on the University of Michigan dance team and neuroscience major in the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts, follows in all parts of her life.
The Spokane, Wash., native started dancing at the age of 2 before doing it competitively in high school and in studio.
Heading to college, Dwyer knew that she wanted to dance for a collegiate program. While trying out as an incoming freshman, Dwyer made it all the way to the end of tryouts before being cut. She says that while it was a disappointment to not make the team right away, she was confident that she would persevere and knew that she still wanted to pursue opportunities available to her at Michigan, especially as a pre-med student.
"I've always known that I wanted to be pre-med," she explained. "I'm a huge people person. I love helping people. Adding in my love of science, it made a lot of sense."
Dwyer's interest in medicine and helping people is particularly close to her heart. Her father passed away from multiple sclerosis when she was only 11 years old. That loss and her experience with his illness contributed to her passion for working in medicine and helping to change the lives of others.
Dwyer has chosen to focus her studies on neuroscience, something she attributes to her family's experience with MS.
"Multiple sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease, and I was interested in that. Growing up and watching my father, he was in a wheelchair all of the time and I didn't really understand it," she said. "Now getting to learn about it, I understand what was going on neurologically and physically with his body."
In addition to her classes and a job working at the Audiology clinic at Mott Children's Hospital, Dwyer is involved in research on campus. This year, she is contributing to a research team that studies the very disease her father had.
"Last year, I was working on a research project that was studying PTSD. Then my research mentor moved to Texas, so now I'm on a research team that's actually studying multiple sclerosis, which is what my dad had," she said. "I'm really passionate about what we're studying. Getting to do research and helping other people helps me because I feel like I'm contributing somehow, even though he's not here anymore."
Dwyer's desire to help others through medicine also led her to pursue a minor in law, justice, and social change.
"I took a sociology class because it was a recommended course for the pre-med track. It opened my eyes," she said. "I knew racism and sexism and all these other things were issues, but I didn't realize how so many underlying social issues impact medicine. There's a lot of inequality and injustice in the medical world. That's another reason I want to go into the medical field -- to make an impact and change those things to help patients get better treatment."
Dwyer is just a sophomore, but she hopes to go to medical school after completing her degree.
"I would like to go right after graduating, but if that doesn't happen, that's OK, too," she said. "I can definitely work and apply again. I'm not discouraged. My life motto is 'If you don't get it the first time, just keep trying.' That was true with dance team. You just have to keep going."
Dwyer's success on the Michigan dance team is a great example of how staying focused and determined when working toward goals can push someone through any obstacle. Although it has been a very unconventional year, she says she has had a great experience on the team so far. After starting the year with a few in-person practices and lots of Zoom sessions dancing at home, the team is now gearing up for the Universal Dance Association's College National competition.
"We've had a lot of nine-to-five practices on Saturday and Sunday and we're starting to hit the ground running," she said. "It's just my favorite thing to be dancing all the time and learning and pushing ourselves."
The Wolverines will be competing in nationals virtually this year, submitting videos of their routines when the competition kicks off next month.
"It will be interesting how that goes. We're set to film soon. It's been really intense in the best way possible, she said. "It gets hard, but at the end of the day, it's so worth it. Compared to last year when I wasn't on the team, I just remember always thinking that I would kill to be there. So to finally get to be there now is a dream come true."
When asked what her favorite memory of being on the team so far is, Dwyer pointed to a moment during an exhausting practice where spots were being determined for one of the team's routines.
"The way that our routines work is that only 16 people are allowed to be in the routine, but there's 27 of us total," she explained. "So it can get kind of intense because we all really want to be on the floor and we all really want to dance for each other. The coaches had a couple of us do the routine again, which is when you know they're picking who it is. Everyone else was just watching and cheering us on and hyping us up. I finally felt like I was performing again. I haven't performed in so long and I felt like I was dancing for my life. It was the best thing ever."
Dwyer's commitment to her mantra of relentless pursuit of her goals has served her well so far. She says that when she steps back and looks at her Michigan experience in perspective, she is incredibly grateful for the opportunities available to her here.
"If you would have told high school Deanna that she was going to be on the dance team, researching multiple sclerosis, working at the pediatric hospital, and just living in an apartment with my friends, I don't think I would have believed you," she said. "I'm just so grateful."
As she continues her journey at Michigan and beyond, Dwyer will continue to push through and follow her dreams while never forgetting the people who have been there to help her make it all happen.
"I really wouldn't be where I am today or able to do all things I'm doing now without all the amazing people in my life, like my mom, sister, teammates, coaches, and friends," she said. "Anything and everything I do is not just for me, but for all of them, too."
