Heart of an Athlete - A feature on Gabrielle Highlander

By Maddi Dolan

Gabrielle Highlander is a nineteen-year-old student studying Human Performance with a concentration in Exercise Physiology at The University of Tampa. Fitness has always been an important part of Gabrielle’s life.

In high school she was involved in cheerleading and track. She also graduated high school two years early and was a cheerleader at the community college she attended.

Her health has become even more important to her after she was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy, which is a disease that affects the muscles of the heart. She has already suffered from two heart attacks, both happening in 2018.

Her condition is hereditary and her past three generations of grandfathers have all passed away from heart attacks. That is something she does not want to happen to herself.

Because of her heart condition, she faces challenges with exercising and staying healthy, but as long as she takes her medication she should not have any major problems with what she would like to do in the future. Gabrielle plans to train athletes to stay fit and teach them proper nutrition to live a healthy lifestyle.

She is very optomistic and does not let her health condition define her.