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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
Wednesday, January 12, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon PHOTO PROVIDED to find a way to make new friends — something she hadn’t needed to do during her childhood. “I had to figure out who I was, what I wanted in the next four years, and where I wanted to go. I sought out communities like I had in Sisters and recreated that support system through joining clubs,” said Bidasolo. “I also got really involved in the athletic department. It took a long time. I didn’t really feel like I was settled until halfway through my sophomore year.” Up until that point, Bidasolo felt like every day was a grind. She knew in her heart it was all going to work out but admits it was really tough for a while. “I have a fear of complacency,” she said. “I’m really self-motivated, which comes from always being an athlete. Then in college, I wasn’t an athlete anymore, and needed to find somewhere to put all that perfection- ist energy.” Internships gave her a new direction and taught her business skills through interactions with executives from Nike, Adidas, and the NFL. She began to transfer her athletic skills into arenas that could take her into a career after graduation. Finding a job in sports hap- pened faster than she imagined. She accepted a position her junior year as a Learfield IMG Oregon Sports Property Assistant within the Oregon Athletics’ corporate spon- sorship department. “I helped execute all the contract deliverables within those sponsor relationships. To do that job during college was all about time manage- ment,” she said. Then her senior year, she was hired by CaptainU as an account manager of event sales and partner- ships. CaptainU is an online recruit- ing ecosystem that helps connect high school athletes looking to com- pete at the next level with college coaches. Through all her challenges, a mantra her father used helped her keep going. “We’re a huge football family PHOTO PROVIDED Oregon Football interns with U of O quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. PHOTO PROVIDED Maggie Bidasolo (right) working the 2021 US Olympic Gymnastics Trials in St. Louis, Missouri, for CaptainU. and when things get really hard, I come back to the saying, ‘Move the chain,’” she said. “In football, when you get a first down, the chain mark- ers move; if you move the chains enough times, eventually you’ll score. You don’t need a big Hail Mary or touchdown pass or 50-yard crazy play to save you. It’s those in- the-middle, nose-grinding decisions, and incremental things that help you score.” At no time was that philoso- phy more important than when the Bidasolo family home in Sisters burned down. Recently hired by CaptainU, Bidasolo was in her last term. She got the call that their fam- ily lost everything in the fire. “I came home from college to help them regroup while still work- ing and going to school full-time. I was still able to graduate in June. Then, two days after graduation, I moved across the country to my new home in Nashville. Seven months later, we’re still trying to get the pieces of our home and our life back together. “My family is a very close unit and we operate together,” said Bidasolo. “Life and tragedy happen but the Sisters community has been incredibly helpful to get us back on our feet. The outpouring of love and support from everybody has been overwhelmingly incredible, but it’s still hard being that far away from home and my parents.” Growing up in Sisters taught Bidasolo that you can make family wherever you go, and your family isn’t always who you share blood with. “I’ve had so many adopted aunts, uncles, grandparents, and siblings,” she said. “The town turned into my family. I took that with me to college and created a core group of family that to this day I rely on. I pick the people that I love. I know I’ll do that forever wherever I go. It makes a strong support system.” WE VALUE OUR READERS e’re here for you and we deeply appreciate your support. Your supporting subscriptions help make it possible for Nugget staff and freelance writers to continue telling the stories of the Sisters community through changing times. Readers who would like to make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters can visit www.NuggetNews.com and click on “Subscribe & Support” or drop a check in the mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759 The Nugget Newspaper 541-549-9941 • 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters 13