All too often, we celebrate women who change history while looking in the rearview mirror. 

Women scientists and mathematicians have their world-changing work credited to their male colleagues. Women activists are ridiculed and prosecuted in the public eye. Women artists are teased mercilessly in the press, only for their “artistic genius” to be celebrated after tragedy befalls them.

Things change when we take a moment to celebrate the history being made in front of our eyes. When women are fairly compensated and rewarded for their work. When new opportunities open up for the women and girls coming after them. When our society redefines, in real time, what it means to be a powerful woman. 

On the recent episode of Fearless, hosts Emily Wood, LaDrina Wilson and Macey Shofroth are joined by Ella Schmit, a member of the inaugural University of Iowa women’s wrestling team, which was the first women’s wrestling team at a Division I school in a Power 4 conference. 

Schmit grew up in Bettendorf, Iowa, and was a three-time Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association state champion. She is one of four girls in the history of Iowa to qualify for the Iowa boys state wrestling tournament. She helped recruit other girls at her high school to join wrestling, before it was a state-sanctioned sport for girls, and she was the first in-state commit to the University of Iowa women’s wrestling team. 

Schmit has played an integral part in popularizing and expanding access to women’s wrestling in Iowa. She shared what it’s like to be one of the firsts to do something and how she appreciates being able to blaze a trail for the girls coming after her. 

Here are three takeaways from our conversation that will help other women hoping to make history in their own ways. 

Leverage your supporters to tackle your goals.

Schmit grew up watching her older brother wrestle, never expecting to get into the sport herself. But when she climbed the rope at her brother’s practice faster than any of the boys in the room, a coach told her she had a future in the sport. 

She used the encouragement from those coaches, as well as her parents, to push herself to compete at the highest level.

“I had these people supporting me and not letting me fall into stereotypes,” Schmit said. “At points, it did suck, but I think those coaches that held me to the same standard as all the other guys in the room made me who I am. There were stereotypes, but in a way, I found a way to embrace them.” 

Share who you are with others so they can follow in your footsteps.

Schmit is active on TikTok and other social media. She loves to share about her life as a wrestler to show other girls they can access that life. Others sharing about themselves helped her embrace being strong and muscular. 

She said that once she began posting on TikTok, she encountered many people who were unaware of girls’ wrestling. She’s been able to see it become a normal part of high school life, something that she had dreamed about at that age. 

“It’s so fun to see other girls enjoying what I had such a passion for in high school, and all the opportunities, seeing them talk about their all-girls teams. That was something that I had to create at Bettendorf,” Schmit said. “I made the girls’ team so that I could be part of it. All these girls getting to just walk into those opportunities and rooms full of girls, but then also people that want them to succeed and aren’t just looking at them weird because they are a girl in the male-dominated sport – it just warms my heart.”

Believe in yourself to take the first step.

Wrestling blessed Schmit with confidence and resilience. It’s given her the opportunity to demonstrate another way for women to be strong. She would never have gotten the opportunity to shape perspectives and become a powerful woman if she hadn’t taken that first step onto the mat. 

“My mom told me a statistic where men are more likely to think they’re capable of something that they’re not, and girls think they aren’t capable of something that they’re totally capable of,” Schmit said. “Women so often downplay their abilities. If you’re confident and believe in yourself and know what you’re capable of, you’re going to go far. It may not look like exactly what you thought it would look like, but as long as you keep your head up and work hard, you’re going to reach your goals regardless.”

Listen to this episode and more