Jamie Rawson has never been the type of girl to go with the crowd. She has always been the one who was the tomgirl. She would rather play in the mud with her twin brother Jason and the other boys than be a cheerleader, dancer or beauty queen. Rawson continues to charge against mainstream trends and fights for her dreams to no end.

 

Born and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio, Rawson had the type of parents who raised her to have high goals and to chase after them no matter what it took. Her father often said, “You have to work hard to get to the top, but you have to work harder to stay there.”

 

She has lived her life according to those words of wisdom.

 

At the age of twelve, Rawson knew she wanted to work in some capacity with children with disabilities. Rawson grew up with a friend whose sister had communication and behavior issues. She and several of her friends decided to volunteer at a summer camp, Recreation Unlimited, in Ashley, Ohio, to help children with disabilities. The camp is where Rawson discovered that she had fallen in love with adaptive recreation and assisting children.

 

After completing her undergraduate degree in recreational therapy at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and several master’s degrees in education at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, Rawson is now the director of special programs at Nelsonville-York City Schools in Nelsonville, Ohio.

 

“I wanted to become a director because I wanted to be an advocate for the kids,” said Rawson. “I felt like I could be the biggest game-changer for them.”

 

Throughout her master’s degree studies she stuck to her rigorous workout schedule. Now when the alarm clock rings at 3:42 a.m. every morning Rawson jumps out of bed ready to conquer the world.

 

“It is like Christmas morning almost every morning when my alarm clock goes off,” said Rawson. “If I don’t work out in the morning, I find myself to be very irritable, off-track and undisciplined.”

 

Rawson’s healthy lifestyle prompted her to start her own personal training/fitness coach business, Rawfitness. For six years, Rawfitness has conducted boot camps at the local schools, helping community members along with supporting clients’ fitness goals on an individual basis.

 

Along with Rawfitness, Rawson also has competed for the past two years in the National Physique Committee (NPC) during the spring months. Rawson has competed in only three competitions so far due to the financial obligations of a competition, sacrifices of social life and the mental side effects such as obsession, perfectionism, fatigue and irritability.

 

“Once you compete, I don’t know what it is but it’s like a bug. It’s the best,” said Rawson. “If I don’t compete then I’m average. My biggest fear is to become complacent.”

 

Rawson used to overload her schedule with fitness and work activities to the point that it left little or no room for herself. Balance in her life was something that she said she had to learn the hard way. After working hard from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week for a year, Rawson’s body, mind, family and friends said enough. Rawson was hospitalized for stress, however, when her doctor recommended that she slow down Rawson became upset and check herself out of the hospital. Once she left the hospital, Rawson began to look back on her life and question, “Is this really what I want to be doing for the rest of my life?”

 

“I lost the warm, caring, outgoing person to this bitter, cold, ‘out of my way, everyone’ person who was bound, determined and relentless to meet her goals,” said Rawson.

 

Rawson now has done a 180-degree turn from where she was a year ago. She has learned to be more flexible and less obsessed with perfection. However, she sometimes has to remind herself to take a step back and enjoy life.

 

“Like this morning after working out I just looked up at the stars,” said Rawson. “Those are the things I missed out on.”

 

With Rawson’s new outlook on life and the goals that she sets for herself, she has recently found a man whom she says helps balance her out.

 

“Nick came at the perfect time,” said Rawson.

 

Rawson and Nick Angelini, an Army soldier for seven years and top bench press record holder in Ohio, first started talking on Facebook after Angelini was relocated to Athens, Ohio, as the Southeast Ohio Army recruiter.

 

“We are very similar in our mindset and goals,” said Angelini. “We balance each other out but we also push each other.” 

 

Angelini and Rawson find any way possible to be together despite their busy schedules. On the weekends they try to work out together along with freeing up time to do fun activities like bowling, hiking, and canoeing.

 

Rawson has gone through ups and downs in her life trying to discover and better herself. She has fallen in love with discipline, sacrifices, mental challenges and, above all else, helping anyone she can along the way.

 

“My purpose and calling in life I believe is to help individuals whether it be in the capacity of special education or fitness,” said Rawson. “I feel that I need to make even the smallest contribution to society and plant the seed to evoke change.”