CORNELIUS, N.C. — Almost any day of the week, you can find Aniyah Taylor in the gym, practicing gymnastics day in and day out.

A focus Taylor says started at an early age as she grew up watching gymnasts, like Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, defy the odds. That inspired her to start tumbling around the house until her mother took her to a gymnastics class.

What You Need To Know

  •  Aniyah Taylor has been practicing gymnastics from an early age

  •  She spends more than 30 hours a week in the gym

  •  While looking at colleges, she dreamed of going to an HBCU

  • She recently committed to attend Fisk University in Tennessee, the first HBCU to have a gymnastics program in the country

“It was kind of just do it. Do it on the floor, do it on the bed, do it anywhere we could find,” Taylor said. “That was, like, somewhat cushion-y, but not totally safe.”

But Taylor says she wasn’t the only one inspired by Douglas and Biles.

Throughout her 10-year career, Taylor says she’s watch as more and more people of color have joined the sport.

“I think a lot of younger POC girls have been more determined, and they've seen that girls that look like me can do the sport and succeed too,” Taylor said. “So why not? I’ll give it a try.”

As she followed their careers, along with a number of other college gymnasts, she knew she wanted to continue participating in the sport after high school.

“Ever since I was a little girl watching like the big schools compete on TV,” Taylor said. “It was just a matter of, like, where I want to go, narrowing it down as I got older.”

But as Taylor grew older, she started dreaming of another track, attending an Historically Black College or University.

“I've always wanted to go to an HBCU,” Taylor said. “I just never had the opportunity to see one with a gymnastics program.”

Just last year, Fisk University in Tennessee announced they would be starting the first ever gymnastics team at an HBCU.

“That was like a dream come true to know that I can have the historical, academic and athletic side all in one school,” Taylor said.

It’s still surreal for Taylor to think about the countless hours she’s spent in the gym to get to this point. She typically practices in the gym 30 hours a week. For her, the best reward now isn’t trophies, but becoming part of history.

“It's amazing and astounding really to just have that opportunity,” Taylor said.  “And to be a part of something that is not only monumental, but also historic for POC community and for the gymnastics community as well.”