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Monica Quimby wears a lot of impressive hats, and a hockey helmet is one of them. An adjunct college biology professor and a member of the US Women’s Paralympic Sledge Hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics, Monica is a determined woman who refuses to stay still.
She possesses a no-fear attitude in so many ways. From bungee jumping in her wheelchair to moving from Maine to Florida on her own, Monica shows humans everywhere a spinal cord can’t, and shouldn’t, hold you back.
Why She’s Fearless
Growing up in Scarborough, Maine, Monica was an athletic girl. She grew up skiing, which is exactly what she did when she was a student at the University of New Hampshire. She was on their ski team and she was a ski instructor at a local ski hill. Sadly, in 2006 she landed on her back while doing a jump, becoming a paraplegic.
Never an easy adjustment to make, but she’s been a fighter. After going to the Shepherd Center for rehab, and learning how to walk with braces, she returned to classes at the University of New Hampshire and graduated with a degree in molecular biology. During her undergrad, she discovered two DNA ancestors of the strawberry fruit in her research in mitochondrial DNA.
After graduating, Monica received her master’s degree in Higher Education, and was hired as adjunct biology professor at Southern Maine Community College at the age of 23, the youngest person to ever work there as a professor. Monica is also responsible for the resurrection of the Ms. Wheelchair Maine pageant, and the foundation for the pageant. She won the title of Ms. Wheelchair Maine in 2011.
In 2013, Monica made a huge life decision to move to Florida from snowy Maine, and it has proven to be a wise decision. Upon arriving, she was introduced to the sport of paracanoe, and went to the Rio Paralympics in 2016 to help promote the sport. Getting back into any kind of sport was not easy for Monica, as she held resentment towards the sports world for a long time.
It wasn’t the sport of paracanoe however that stole her heart in Florida. Strangely enough, it was sledge hockey, the adaptive form of hockey, that made Monica go headfirst into being an athlete again. She soon became a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning sled hockey team. She won her first national title with a team in 2018.
What’s Next?
Playing both defense and forward, Monica has excelled at hockey since becoming involved in the sport. While she did not make the US Women’s team for the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympics, she trained hard during the pandemic, and made the 2022 US Women’s team for the Beijing Paralympics. Living in Florida, she’s able to take part in a wide variety of outdoor activities. We can’t wait to see which sport Monica decides to take up next.
ideas@spinalpedia.com
