Courtesy BYU Photo

It’s been a little over a year since Gretchen Hoekstre received her degree in Exercise and Wellness from Brigham Young University, but the moment won’t soon be lost on her.

Like many, the experience was an emotional one, but considering where Hoekstre is from and the challenges she endured along the way, her experience may have proved more impactful than most.

“I never really pictured that moment,” Hoekstre recalled. “I never really pictured graduation. I never really saw those parts of it, until I was there. And it was very emotional.”

Indeed no individual family member could have provided a reference point for her with regards to what college would be like. With her degree in hand, Gretchen Hoekstre became the first ever college graduate in her family, a fact she’s very proud of, and for good reason.

Hoekstre hails from Seaside, Oregon, a small town to the Northwest of Portland where most everyone is a blue collar worker, including her parents, Larry and Karen. And like most good parents, Larry and Karen wanted something more from Gretchen and made no secret of what became a solid mandate.

Courtesy BYU Photo

“I was told from a very young age that I was either going to college or I would join the military and then go to college,” Hoekstre said. “They’d tell me that, ‘You’re getting a degree even if you flip burgers for the rest of your life, but you’re going to have a degree. I don’t care if we have to go into a lot of debt. We’re gonna make sure that you get the support to do it.'”

And she eventually thrived with all the support lent her way, overcoming more than several struggles en route to earning her cherished college degree while overcoming her share of struggles.

“It was a very big moment in my life,” Hoekstre explained. “I went from being from small town, USA as a girl with dyslexia and ADHD who didn’t even know if I was going to pass my classes, to having a college degree from a very well-established university.”

Debt forgiveness

Fortunately, for the Hoekstre family, no debt needed to be incurred in Gretchen’s pursuit of a college degree by virtue of her being granted an athletic scholarship.

Gretchen took up throwing both the discus and shot put as a sophomore at her small high school where she was just one of 99 students to graduate back in 2019. She excelled at both disciplines almost immediately, although parlaying her athletic prowess into earning a college scholarship wasn’t even a thought initially.

That all changed midway through her senior year, however, according to Gretchen, when colleges started showing interest and sending her a steady stream of letters. Most of those inquiries came from local programs before BYU came calling.

Cougar assistant track coach Niklas Arrhenius, who specifically coaches both the women’s and men’s throws was the one who noticed her talent, but then was won over by other factors.

“Just talking with her, and then having her on the visit, I just had this idea that, like, I think this girl is what I’m looking for,” Arrhenius recalled. “She’s the person that’s all in, loves the sport and loves the process. She knows what you have to go through. She welcomes the tough times, the tough workouts and everything.”

But the fit at BYU wasn’t something Gretchen was attracted to initially. Despite being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she was wary of being the typical so-called Mormon girl that naturally goes to BYU when the opportunity arose.

All of that hesitation ended abruptly upon her visit to Provo.

“I took a visit, and I immediately felt that this is where I need to be,” Gretchen recalled. “I had that small voice in my ear and in my heart that this is where you need to be. So I told Nik, the coach here, probably a week after my visit, ‘Hey, if you have a spot for me, I want to be there.'”

Arrhenius complied, gave her a spot and a much appreciated scholarship and Gretchen was off to BYU.

Overcoming adversity

Adjusting to collegiate life and a strict academic discipline can provide a struggle, and certainly did for Gretchen upon arrival at BYU. Never one to particularly excel at academics, while carrying both dyslexia and ADHD issues, Gretchen admits to some pretty profound struggles initially.

The social and athletic demands presented big challenges, as well.

“You go from being this big fish in a baby pond to not a very big fish in a massive pond,” Gretchen described. “But I was so blessed to have the support I did from my coaches, and academically, there’s resources there to help you with whatever you need. And believe me, I used all the resources and I’m really glad that I did.”

Through it all Gretchen learned the type of discipline her parents no doubt had in mind when they began to encourage her pursuit of a college degree.

“The best part of her story, I think, is that she’s gone through BYU despite all her struggles, which she freely admits to having,” Arrhenius added. “None of it has gone smoothly for her, believe me, but Gretchen knows how to work her way through things. She’s a very bright girl and her being an extrovert and very outgoing has helped her a lot through the tough times.”

Excelling in her field

Gretchen has also worked to match and even surpass the promise Arrhenius envisioned when he first recruited her.

Last year she set the BYU all-time mark in the discus, recording a 57.04m/187-2 throw during the NCAA West Preliminary round. She was also named as an All-Big12 performer after placing second in the 2024 conference championships. She also holds both the No. 2 all-time school record for both outside and inside shot puts, with throws of 17.43m/57-2.25 and 17.17m/56-4, respectively.

“She’s kind of a meathead when it comes to lifting,” Arrhenius said. “She just has lifted her whole life and loves the weight room, which is not always the case with some of the athletes, mostly females that I coach, that don’t maybe have that background, or even if they do, they not just, like, love it.”

Gretchen loves the process so much that she envisions a future helping others reach their strength and conditioning potential while working in a capacity not normally reserved for women.

One day, I want to be a football strength coach at a major university,” she said. “I think there needs to be more women who are willing to be in the strength community. We’re always being told that that’s not what women are supposed to do, that women are supposed to be small and weaker and and they’re supposed to be, you know, submissive and those kinds of things. But it’s been important in my life to have strong female role models, so I want to give back in that way.”

Considering Gretchen’s humility, work ethic and resolve, it’s a better bet than most that she’ll be giving back more than anticipated.