Catholic athlete receives scholarship to BYU

BOUNTIFUL — Megan Donehue, a 2006 Judge Memorial Catholic High School graduate, was not afraid of venturing out on her own to attend Brigham Young University (BYU).

Donehue received a full-ride athletic scholarship to BYU, and is a member of the gymnastics team. The top six athletes on the team compete in gymnastics meets. As a freshman, Donehue was the seventh team member. As the seventh member, she competed in exhibition meets and was scored, but her scores did not count toward the school’s regional or national ranking.

In her junior year at Judge Memorial, Donehue injured her knee, which made some of the colleges and universities she was interested in a little nervous.

"I was still in rehabilitation and not back in gymnastics yet when I started looking at colleges," said Donehue. "A couple of schools offered me a walk-on situation where they would give me a scholarship in my sophomore year. But BYU offered me a scholarship early and unexpectedly before I was serious about any of the other schools even though BYU was aware of my knee injury.

"I was the only one in my class who went to BYU," said Donehue. "I was hesitant about going to BYU, but at the same time, a full-ride scholarship was hard to pass up. They gave me a couple of days to decide, but I thought why wait. I had thought about all of the good things and they outweighed the bad things, so I went for it. One of the good things, of course, was the scholarship. BYU is close to home, it is a good school academically, has a good atmosphere, and I am from Utah. Granted, I went to Catholic schools, but I have grown up around Mormons all my life. I have close relatives on my mother’s side who are Mormons. My family and I are members of St. Olaf Parish in Bountiful, and we have never had a bad experience in our neighborhood.

"The only bad thing was that I would be one of a few students who was not Mormon going to the school," said Donehue. "I was not really too worried about not having friends at BYU because I already had a friend on the gymnastics team who is two years older. I knew I was on a team and immediately I would have 18 really good friends. I am with my team members all the time. We train together, lift weights, and run."

Donehue said the freshman girls on her team definitely became her best friends. She had classes with some of them, and as freshmen, they were required to do study hall hours together. She said there are other girls on the gymnastics team who also are not Mormon, so she did not feel like she stood out.

Donehue is required to take two "Book of Mormon" classes, four elective religion classes, a Doctrine and Covenants course, and a New Testament course.

"So far they have been pretty good," said Donehue. "This semester I am taking Judaism and the Gospel, although most of the classes are focused on the Mormon religion. I usually tell my religion professors I am not Mormon because that way they are more eager to help me. In the "Book of Mormon" classes, most of the students have been studying it all of their lives, and I have no idea what it is about. The missionaries also come to visit me, but they are always nice. Some of them would help us study for our religion tests."

Donehue started gymnastics when she was 4 years old with her mother, Paige, as her first coach. Her older brother was also taking gymnastics from her mother, so she started in an all boys class at USA Gymnastics in Bountiful.

"I really liked gymnastics, so I stayed with it. You can take gymnastics on a recreational basis and do it for fun, but I moved into the competitive side of it. My coach was a serious coach who helped me compete.

"At BYU, we all train in the four events equally, including the uneven bars, balance beam, vault, and floor exercises, but you always have your better events," said Donehue. "This year I competed mostly on the bars and vaults in the exhibitions. Usually I like the floor and beam, but because of small injuries I was not able to compete in them."

Donehue said the benefits she and her teammates receive from being on the gymnastics team make her time at BYU quite enjoyable.

"Our first meet last year was in Cancun, Mexico," said Donehue. "We got to go down there for five days and hang out at the beach, and go to Tulum and see the ruins, which were awesome. BYU came in second place at the Cancun Gymnastics Classic."

Donehue said traveling in general was fun because she traveled with her friends. They travel by bus within Utah, but other than that they fly to their meets. The meets are usually on the weekends, so they are required to study while they are away.

"I did not find traveling and studying much of a problem. Most of the teachers I had were really helpful," said Donehue. "We get a traveling schedule at the beginning of the year, so we are able to make arrangements with our teachers about our requirements and tests."

Donehue will continue working on her general education classes at BYU for now. In her fifth semester she will have to decide her major and is strongly considering chemical engineering.