A basketball player, swimmer and gymnast, Annie had just returned to San Diego from a road trip to Oregon full of “non-stop swimming and hiking” when she broke her neck in a bodysurfing accident, resulting in quadriplegia. A graduate of Rancho Bernardo High School, the accident happened two weeks before the start of her college freshman year. Though the mental and physical repercussions took a toll, after rehabbing at Craig Hospital, she earned her associate’s degree from San Diego Miramar College and is transferring to study business at UCLA.

She has since tried all sorts of adaptive sports including snow and water skiing, mountain biking, river rafting, paramotoring, ATVing and surfing. She’s certified in scuba and has gone on two open water dives and swam in her first nationally classified para swim meet in November 2024. She continues to train in the pool 3 to 4 days a week. Annie is also a Triumph Foundation volunteer ambassador, visiting hospitals to offer support, encouragement and answer questions for newly injured SCI patients. She enjoys reading and has shared that passion volunteering to read with children.