Some people never achieve in a lifetime what 23-year-old Nicole Richards has accomplished in the last six years. After a car accident in February 2000 coming home from a Ball State University gymnastics meet, this popular academic star and state champion gymnast had broken her neck and was paralyzed from the chest down. She would be confined to a wheelchair. In an instant, her life changed forever.

It’s sadly true…Nicole Richards’ life has changed forever, but her courage and strength is unwavering. She has never given up. Nicole is a beautiful, shining example of inner light and determination. In the past six years, Nicole has undergone multiple surgeries and long stays in numerous hospitals. After an almost three month stay at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, she spent her first few months back at home completing her senior year of high school and was named Perry Meridian’s prom queen at her senior prom. She had enough courage to begin her next stage of her life…college. After spending one year at IUPUI, Nicole was ready to enroll in the school that she had been planning to do gymnastics for. She moved to Muncie and enrolled herself in classes at Ball State. Nicole was scared and worried at first, but after just a few months, she was meeting friends and enjoying herself just as any college student.