Dear Kiara: A Letter from Jessica Yamzon

As Jessica Yamzon reflects on her four years at Arkansas as a Gymback, she thinks about the relationships she has made and the friendships that have bloomed, one of which being with freshman Kiara Gianfagna. Yamzon and Gianfagna were the first and second competitors in Coach Wieber’s lineup in nearly every event this season. It was late in her senior campaign that Yamzon began to feel the effects of all those years of hard work and long days in the gym, forced to cheer on her teammates from the sideline. Today, Yamzon writes to Gianfagna as her predecessor, teammate and friend.

Kiara,

I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you and all that you accomplished this year. You truly are like a little sister to me. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have had this last year with you. You’ve grown so much as a person and as a gymnast from when you first stepped on campus ’til now and I know there’s so much more ahead of you. You are not only a great teammate, but an amazing person and friend both in and out of the gym. It has been so much fun to share a little bit of life with you through gymnastics, bible study, school, late night talks, Tik Toks and so much more. I also want to thank you for having my back this year and leading off the team when I couldn’t. Being injured and not competing was not what I expected but I was confident that you could step in and do the job and you killed it. If there’s one thing that I can pass on to you, it would be to enjoy every single moment and all of the relationships and experiences that you have, because it all goes by so fast. I will always be here to support you in all that you do and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you these next few years. Always remember to keep doing you. Thank you for all the amazing memories and I wish you the best of luck this upcoming season and year, and just remember that I love you and I’m so proud of you.