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Wednesday, January 12, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Lessons learned
in sports
sustain Sisters grad
By Katy Yoder | Correspondent
Maggie Bidasolo always operates at maximum capacity.
Knowing how to manage her interests, energy level, and academics
was imperative at an early age. A Sisters High School graduate who
was partially homeschooled, she credits her father and being an
athlete with teaching her how to master time management.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Bidasolo family took an unortho-
dox approach to her education.
“When I went to high school
it was a hybrid situation. I wanted
to be a high-end athlete and be
involved in giving back to the com-
munity, while still being the best
student possible,” she said.
She didn’t follow the norm for
how she approached her college
career and took a gap year after high
school. Even after hearing from a
lot of people that taking a gap year
was not a good idea, she and her
parents decided to continue their
untraditional approach to education.
Because of the gap year, Bidasolo
wasn’t eligible for a lot of the schol-
arships. That was difficult when
planning for college, but it was a
price she was willing to pay.
“My dad thought after working
so hard in high school and being
involved in such time-consuming
competitive sports, I needed a
break,” she said.
Bidasolo’s parents also thought
working in the real world before
going to college would be ben-
eficial. Because of the gap year,
Bidasolo wasn’t with her graduating
class when she headed to her fam-
ily’s alma mater, the University of
Oregon.
Bidasolo says her passion and
desire for perfection began with
gymnastics. She started taking gym-
nastics when she was 2 years old.
“I was a competitive gymnast
until I was 13,” she said. “I took les-
sons in Bend and Redmond. I joke
that I grew up in the back seat of my
mother’s minivan doing homework
by the dome light as she drove me
to practice.”
Bidasolo was the state champion
gymnast on the beam in 2009. She
spent 4-1/2 hours, five nights a week
practicing, then traveled on week-
ends to competitions throughout the
West Coast.
“It was a big part of my life and
taught me how to time manage, be
coachable and disciplined. A lot of
my perfectionist tendencies came
from gymnastics because I was
always striving for perfect scores,”
she said.
Then the moment all gymnasts
fear happened. In the middle of a
competition, she hurt her back badly
and had to retire at 13 from gym-
nastics. Needing an athletic outlet,
she shifted her focus to competitive
dance. Bidasolo danced competi-
tively through high school from age
13 to 18.
“I did everything from ballet, tap,
jazz, and lyrical,” she said.
One of Bidasolo’s goals was to
be a cheerleader so she could be
involved with the Oregon football
scene. She missed the team by two
spots.
“That was hard,” she said, “but
also the biggest blessing. When I
thought about all of the time I’d be
investing I began to ask myself what
I would do with dance after college.
For me, it didn’t translate into the
kind of career I wanted to pursue.
My dream to be on the sidelines at
football games got smooshed.”
It was time to find another way
to achieve her goal. Bidasolo over-
came the setback by seeking out
internships that got her on the field
and part of the action. She found her
role as an intern much more fun, and
she could put into practice the sports
business skills she was learning at U
of O. It also provided a way for her
to rebuild her network of friends.
Being from a town like Sisters,
she had to adjust and recognize that
the relationships she’d established
in her hometown wouldn’t be wait-
ing for her at U of O. Coupled with
an overwhelming sense of isolation
from taking a gap year, Bidasolo had
WE
We’r
TELLING THE STORIES OF
THE SISTERS COMMUNITY
Through boom and bust, good times and hard times,
for more than four decades.