Impact Of A Scholarship: Kirstin Nichols

Maryland native Kirstin Nichols ('24) dreamed of representing her state school as soon as she began running competitively. But numerous unexpected health issues, including seven stress fractures during her high school track career, kept Nichols' dream in flux. 

Nichols remembers working ceaselessly with her parents to get the medical information that she needed to continue running. Across years of appointments and long conversations with doctors, Nichols was diagnosed with a handful of chronic illnesses that complicate the life of an athlete. 

Yet Nichols reframed these diagnoses as powerful points of clarity: for the first time in her life, Nichols knew what ailed her, and she finally had the tools to take control of her health. 

"There's this whole notion of being an athlete, it's just all hard work and you pull yourself up by your bootstraps," Nichols said. "You can have all the work ethic in the world, but you also have to have the health resources for your hard work to translate into actual results." 

Nichols' health journey enabled her to run well enough to make it onto Maryland's track and field roster, achieving her dream of becoming a Terps runner. But Nichols' journey also fueled a newfound passion for public health, with the goal of providing others the same tools that she had to effectively advocate for their health. 

2025 M Club Rodman Scholarship awardee Kirstin Nichols now aims to make a career out of this passion, and she is set to begin her Master's in Public Health at George Washington University this fall.

Nichols was born and raised in Crofton, hailing from a family of runners. Despite not being into sports as a kid – instead focusing on musical theatre – Nichols gave into years of prodding and started running cross country as a freshman at Arundel High School. 

"I was always passionate about whatever I was doing at the time," Nichols said. "But when I started running, I immediately realized it was something that I loved to do and wanted to do at Maryland."

The injuries and health issues throughout high school made Nichols' goal of collegiate running an uphill battle. So she was extremely grateful when, right before the COVID-19 pandemic, she was healthy enough to narrowly make Maryland's track and field team, Nichols said. 

Nichols competed for four out of her five years at Maryland, racking up several top-10 finishes. Her favorite memory from her Terps track career was an unexpectedly successful race during her senior season. 

"Because of some nagging achilles pain, I wasn't sure if I would get a senior indoor track season," Nichols said. "In one of my first races back, I randomly ran a huge PR, like way faster than all of my other previous indoor 3Ks. A lot of my friends were there, and my family was there, and everyone was just so supportive. It was a breakthrough that I think no one was expecting."

Off the track, Nichols was an involved student-athlete leader. Across her five years as a Terp, she served as Communications Liaison for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and Director of Storytelling for Maryland Made, and was a Gossett Fellow. 

Nichols came into college as a journalism major and added a second degree in social data science by the time she graduated. As she progressed in her studies, Nichols leveraged her student-athlete leadership positions to refine her professional interest in public health. 

"I loved everything that Maryland Made had to offer. I feel like that was really important in advancing my career and even just helping me figure out what I wanted," Nichols said. "Because of how many doors were opened for me here, I realized that public health is what I wanted to study."

Although a bone spur prevented her from competing during her fifth year, Nichols stayed busy, receiving a Do Good Institute Accelerator Fellowship – via Maryland's School of Public Policy – to kickstart a wellness initiative, now named "The Wellness Effect." Nichols partnered with College Park Academy to help middle school students in the community create their own health campaigns. 

"My goal with the initiative was to help young people be able to have both the health literacy skills and confidence to advocate for themselves to doctors," Nichols explained. "Ideally students have the confidence to put their knowledge of healthy behaviors to practice, because I've learned how important that is." 

Nichols highlighted the unwavering stream of support that she received from Maryland Made and Pre-Health Terps during her accelerator fellowship last spring. 

"It was really amazing to feel like I had this huge support system behind me as I explored these opportunities outside of athletics," Nichols said.

Nichols has long-term goals of turning The Wellness Effect into a non-profit organization, as she currently works to expand the initiative to college campuses, including GW, where she'll be starting as a grad student in the fall. 

Nichols acknowledged the significant impact of Maryland and the M Club Rodman Scholarship on her personal and professional journey. She's elated to have the financial support to embark on a career in public health.

"I am incredibly grateful to have received the M Club Rodman Postgraduate Scholarship," Nichols said. "Being a student-athlete at the University of Maryland is about more than competing for the Terps; it's about being part of a community of inspiring, passionate, and caring individuals. I attribute so much of my professional development to Maryland Made and am eager to pay it forward as I continue my studies with the help of this scholarship. I hope to improve health equity so that all people have the opportunity to chase their dreams."

About The M Club

The M Club was founded in 1923 as a letterwinner organization and is one of the oldest athletic letterwinner organizations in the United States. It has been dedicated for more than 100 years to empowering and uplifting University of Maryland student-athletes and letterwinners and continues to foster a growing community of Athletes Helping Athletes through the generosity of its members. Current support for Maryland Athletics includes awarding post-graduate scholarships, funding team reunions, providing letterjackets to graduates and hosting the bi-annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, among other areas.