Why We Give - David and Courtney Pickett BBA '17, MPA '18
From the minute that Courtney Pickett walked onto the UW-Whitewater campus in 2013, she knew she had found a home. She was here to earn a degree in accounting, but also to compete on the nationally-ranked Warhawk Gymnastics team.
Courtney excelled in both by earning her BBA in accounting in 2017 and MPA in 2018 and winning the individual vault national championship in 2014 and the National Gymnastics Team Championships in 2014 and 2017.
Being a Warhawk student-athlete is a large commitment. She admits that her biggest challenge as a student was time management. “From having practice four-plus hours a day to participating in fundraising events on the weekends we had off, and juggling a full school schedule all at the same time. I learned quickly how to fit it all in,” says Courtney. “This prepared me well for the professional world and being able to handle the stress of work and meeting deadlines on a daily basis.” Courtney is an Assurance Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in their Louisville, Kentucky office. The gymnastics team and Warhawk athletics have also given her lifelong friends and a sisterhood that cannot be broken.
Warhawk athletics has a unique way of wrapping the entire family into the program. “From the time Courtney visited UW-Whitewater, we felt a part of the program. Head Coach Jen Regan made sure the parents were involved in the meets and in the lives of the gymnasts,” says David Pickett, Courtney’s father. "We enjoyed the annual banquets to celebrate the season and interact with the other parents. We still stay in touch with a lot of the parents and have fond memories of the nights at Super 8 and 841 Brewhouse.”
Experiencing the Warhawk gymnastics family bond firsthand inspired the Picketts to consider supporting the program. “My motivation to create this fund was to give back to the program that helped develop Courtney into the wonderful young lady she has become,” says David. “I believe in giving back and I can think of no better way to promote the development of young women than by assisting the gymnastics program. Coaches like Jen, Ryan (former assistant coach) and Allison (current assistant coach) do a wonderful job in developing girls into wonderful young women.”
The Pickett family created the Courtney Pickett Gymnastics Endowment in 2020. This fund supports key projects, programs and opportunities to advance the UW-Whitewater Gymnastics Program. David shared his inspiration for creating the fund by saying “The coaches do so much with so little funding. I wanted future gymnasts to have even more opportunities by having the best facilities, training and coaches. I hope that my small gift will help with that. I also have challenged Courtney to continue to give back and support the endowment in the future as she is able as she progresses in her career.”
For more information on creating an endowment and other ways to support UW-Whitewater, please contact foundation@uww.edu.