Jaxon Mitchell competes as a celebrated gymnast on rings and horizontal bar; Rebecca Tomann is a track and field athlete with one of the best weight throws in school history.
While the 2024 Games may have drawn to a close, there are still student athletes in the College of Chemistry who daily display the same kind of discipline and resilience as any Olympian. “Being a student athlete at the University of California, Berkeley, presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities,” says gymnast and recent College of Chemistry student Jaxon Mitchell. He adds, “Balancing a rigorous academic schedule with Division I athletics can be overwhelming, but I view it as a character-building experience.”
Jaxon, who is now a student with the College of Letters & Science, began gymnastics at the age of four and quickly found a lifelong passion. He loved that the sport “offered a continuous stream of new skills to learn and obstacles to overcome.” Similarly, he found that chemistry also presented Jaxon with a continuous stream of new and complex challenges. He found a sense of familiarity in his studies.
In fact, for Jaxon, his sport and chemistry have a lot in common. “Gymnastics taught me to seek out challenges, embrace discipline, and cultivate a growth mindset. These skills provend invaluable as I navigated the demanding coursework in the College of Chemistry.”
In addition to discipline, Jaxon underscores the importance of repetition in both pursuits. In gymnastics, “we practice a new move over and over until it becomes second nature. In chemistry, memorizing formulas, equations, and chemical reactions becomes more manageable when I repeatedly work through
problems.”
Rebecca Tomann, Track and Field athlete and College of Chemistry PhD student, shares similar insights. “Athletics taught me persistence, and I think that is a useful skill for academia too. Especially during a PhD, there can be tough times and the ability to work through those times is very valuable.”
The beginning of her time as a student athlete was challenging and involved juggling time consuming classes with her 20-hour practice weeks. While always a “no brainer” for her that she’d join the team for the remainder of her eligibility, it took some time to find a rhythm.
After finding a good routine and friends, however, she eventually found that “track and chemistry balanced each other out quite well.” Rebecca appreciates the interplay of having workouts for both the brain and the body.
For Rebecca, the lessons learned in the classroom also translate to her sport. She says that chemistry taught her how to “think logically in stressful situations.” For example, while it might be tempting to panic after a foul hammer throw, she finds it helpful to be able to logically assess the situation. “It can really help to calm the nerves and to draw the focus back on the next throws.”
When asked about advice for future student athletes, Jaxon emphasized the importance of seeking support early on and taking advantage of Berkeley’s available resources. “Chemistry can be challenging,” he says, “and you’ll quickly realize that no one can navigate it alone. We’re all in this together.”
Rebecca adds, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. There’s always going to be people that say that it is too much or too hard. But athletes coming into the College of Chemistry should be confident that they can do both chemistry and athletics.”
So what do chemistry and college athletics have in common? According to Jaxon and Rebecca—a whole lot more than one might think.
Jaxon Mitchell has been awarded Conference Freshman of the Week, was nominated for the College Gymnastics Association Freshman of the Year, was All-Conference on rings, and individually qualified for the NCAA Finals.
Rebecca Tomann was awarded 6th place at Pac-12 Conference Championships in 2022, has the 6th best weight throw in school history, competed at NCAA Championship West regional round, presented research at ACS in 2023, is publishing her first research paper, and was awarded CSC Academic All-America Second Team.