Author Brooks Nickell

In this photo, Shannon Miller performs her gold medal-winning balance beam routine during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Photo by Dave Black.

Beyond Olympic Gold: Shannon Miller on Work, Failure and the Strength to Ask for Help

Brooks Nickell

Shannon Miller put it plainly: “The trouble is, you cannot outwork cancer.”

For most of her life, Miller could measure progress in repetitions: one more push-up, one more routine, one more landing. The girl who grew up in Edmond turned those ordinary days of work into an extraordinary career, winning seven Olympic medals and two world all-around championships before her 20th birthday.

Then a rare form of ovarian cancer forced Miller to reconsider the self-reliance that had carried her so far. Determination still mattered. Discipline still mattered. But neither could replace the help of a team.

Miller said, “My cancer diagnosis and treatment was a curveball I never saw coming. I was always a workhorse in the gym. I was not the most talented, the strongest, or the most flexible, but I would outwork anyone.”

Miller will share lessons from her athletic career, cancer diagnosis and life beyond gymnastics at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in the Jeff Johnston Fine Arts Auditorium at Seminole State College. The event is free and open to the public. Her presentation is part of the 2026 “Wellbeing and Resilience” theme of SSC’s Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions program and will serve as a culminating event for the final year of the College’s current five-year NASNTI grant.

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NJCAA Baseball Division I District Championship

Brooks Nickell

Following their NJCAA Region II championship win, the Seminole State College baseball team will face off against St. Charles Community College, in a best two-out-of-three series for the South-Central District title at the BCM Sports Complex in Seminole. The winner will advance to the NJCAA JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

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SSC Launches BLAST: A For-Credit Upskilling Series for Working Professionals

Brooks Nickell
Promotional Flyer for BLAST.

Seminole State College is launching BLAST, a practical, for-credit professional development series designed for employers seeking to upskill teams and for individuals looking to strengthen their résumés. The course runs during the second eight weeks of the Fall 2025 semester and offers both college credit and digital badging for a program cost of $100. BLAST (SSC course code BA2301) delivers weekly, skills-focused sessions led by SSC faculty, industry partners and community leaders.

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SSC Hosts Send-Off Event for Soccer Team’s Fourth Consecutive National Tournament Trip

Brooks Nickell
Seminole State College Women’s Soccer Head Coach Dan Hill thanks attendees at a send-off event on Nov. 10 in the E.T. Dunlap Student Union. SSC students, employees, community supporters, family and friends lined the walls of the union to wish the team well as they head to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Evans, Georgia. The Trojans will face Iowa Western on Monday, Nov. 14 at 4:30pm Central Standard Time.
Seminole State College Women’s Soccer Head Coach Dan Hill thanks attendees at a send-off event on Nov. 10 in the E.T. Dunlap Student Union. SSC students, employees, community supporters, family and friends lined the walls of the union to wish the team well as they head to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Evans, Georgia. The Trojans will face Iowa Western on Monday, Nov. 14 at 4:30pm Central Standard Time.
The women’s soccer team poses in front of the bus before making their departure on Nov. 10. The team enters the tournament as the fifth seed. This marks their fourth consecutive year to compete in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
The women’s soccer team poses in front of the bus before making their departure on Nov. 10. The team enters the tournament as the fifth seed. This marks their fourth consecutive year to compete in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
SSC Women's Soccer Team members celebrate during the selection show where it was announced via livestream that the Trojans received an at-large bid for the 2022 NJCAA D1 Women’s Soccer Championship.

SSC Women’s Soccer score at-large bid to NJCAA D1 Soccer Championship

Brooks Nickell

The Seminole State Women’s Soccer team, alongside faculty, staff, and fans gathered to watch the at-large selection show presented by the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) in the Seminole State College Student Union on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. During the selection show, it was announced via livestream that the Trojans received an at-large bid for the 2022 NJCAA D1 Women’s Soccer Championship. This year’s championship will be hosted at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia from November 13 – 19, 2022. 

Pictured, Oklahoma State Director of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kenneth Corn, USDA Director of Business and Cooperative Programs - Rural Development Brian Wiles, SSC Rural Business and Resources Center Director Danny Morgan, and SSC Educational Foundation Vice Chair Mark Schell tour the toured the Brian Crawford Memorial Sports Complex.

USDA Visits SSC

Brooks Nickell

Oklahoma State Director of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kenneth Corn was on the Seminole State College campus Thursday to meet with President Lana Reynolds, SSC Rural Business and Resources Center Director Danny Morgan and SSC Educational Foundation Vice Chair Mark Schell. Corn and USDA Director of Business and Cooperative Programs – Rural Development Brian Wiles toured the Brian Crawford Memorial Sports Complex during their visit to Seminole. Pictured (left to right) are: Schell, Reynolds, Morgan, Corn and Wiles.

Pictured (left to right) are: Schell, Reynolds, Morgan, Corn and Wiles.