It was a tough decision, (and rather scary) uprooting from her family, giving up the security of a full college scholarship to ASU & large stipend bonus (due to excellence in academic achievement), parting from her friends, pets, teachers, etc…the only life she had known.  But with dedication to her sport, August 19th, 1998, Tarah moved to Edmond Oklahoma to train with the very best at Dynamo Gymnastics.  Hertha thought (and rightly so) that her 15-yr-old was much too young to be traveling out of state and living by herself, so she packed up and went with her daughter for support—a decision Tarah was thankful for since the demands of gymnastics at this level are often very intense and Tarah and her mom have always had a close relationship.  And though she was nervous at first of the adjustment, Tarah soon became more excited about her new circumstances. Determined also not to set her education on a back burner just because she was pursuing her gymnastics dream, she soon enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma only a few blocks from her new duplex. Luckily everything went about as smoothly as it could possibly go, much thanks to the generous President Roger Webb, who waived Tarah’s out of state tuition and even gave large additional funding (in the form of a Presidential scholarship to pay her way).

      While at the University, Tarah fit in like a duck to water.  She continued to play the Harp (w/ renowned folk harpist and teacher Jill Justice), and also learned to play piano.  She continued her studies in French (her teachers now lecturing in the subject), and she danced and learned music theory in addition to her regular course load.  Tarah, airing on the side of caution for her first year at this full-fledged 4-year University, took fewer credits her first two semesters…just to make sure she could handle it all.  But by the end of the college year (due to her high school head start), she was a solid college sophomore (age 16) and doing just fine.  At the gym, the national dance coach, Geza Posar of Russia, was so impressed with Tarah’s dancing ability on floor, that he voluntarily choreographed her Floor and Beam routines.  This paid off because in her first 3 meets as an International Elite at Dynamo, (scores drastically increasing with this new training), she won two 2nd places in the All-Around, never scoring below a Bronze this season, and usually winning all of Floor and Vault. Clearly this move was proving beneficial for her love of the sport & persuit of her dream!

       With Gymnastics though comes the monetary costs. And a steep one it is (especially when trying to support two households)! So determined to help defray some of the incredible expense to train out of state at such a high level, Tarah went door-to-door to Edmond and Oklahoma City businesses for gymnastics sponsorships. She garnered over $4000 in support in less than two months.  (Only a fraction of her total gym expenses for the year—but a big help indeed).

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