Sept. 22, 2026
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photo by Sam Cox
Most days, Skylar Ciccolini studies the spread of Lyme disease, helps teach college students and trains as one of the nation’s top javelin throwers as she pursues a spot on the 2028 U.S. Olympic team.
It’s far from a typical doctoral student schedule.
Yet at the University of Missouri, Ciccolini hasn’t had to choose between her ambitions in science, education and athletics. Instead, Mizzou gave her the opportunity to pursue all three.
"I've found that succeeding at a high level in both academics and athletics is not only possible, but also incredibly rewarding,” she said. “Being passionate about your goals and having a strong support network can make all the difference, and Mizzou gave me the chance to grow into the person I want to be.”
Where possibilities become plans
When Ciccolini arrived from central Pennsylvania, she wanted a college experience where she could thrive academically and athletically. At Mizzou, she found room not just to pursue her ambitions, but to expand them.
In the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Ciccolini explored a range of interests while working alongside faculty researchers on real-world challenges. Those experiences ultimately led her to disease ecology, a field that now shapes her doctoral research on how environmental factors influence Lyme disease risk across the country.
That blend of discovery and hands-on learning also sparked another career goal. Alongside her research, Ciccolini found a passion for helping students learn, an experience that inspired her to pursue a future as a professor at a major research university.
"As a teaching assistant, being able to work with students and see them grow has been incredibly rewarding," she said. "It showed me that I want higher education to be a big part of my future."
Pursuing research and teaching would be demanding on its own. Adding elite athletics to the mix required another level of commitment.
For most doctoral students studying natural resources, spring and summer are prime times for conducting fieldwork. For Ciccolini, however, those months are also the heart of competition season.
Balancing those priorities would not have been possible without support from mentors across campus. She credits both her faculty mentors and coaches at Mizzou Track and Field with helping her excel academically, in the research lab and on the javelin runway.
Rather than forcing her to choose between athletics and academics, Ciccolini’s track coach offered 6 a.m. practices to accommodate her class schedule. At the same time, her mentor, Samniqueka Halsey, a computational ecologist and assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, helped her develop a data-driven research approach using large-scale environmental, climate and wildlife datasets.
With that support, Ciccolini was able to advance her Lyme disease research while continuing to compete at the highest level.
“People at Mizzou believed I could accomplish all of these things at once,” she said.
One mindset, many pursuits
Ciccolini has been rewriting expectations since she broke the university’s javelin record as a freshman. Today, the same determination that fueled her success on the runway drives her work in the classroom and the lab.
Whether she’s analyzing data, teaching new material or refining her throwing technique, Ciccolini approaches each challenge with the same mindset.
“When something doesn’t work, you figure out why, make an adjustment and try again,” she said.
That problem-solving approach has become essential as she balances the demands of doctoral research, teaching responsibilities and elite athletic training. Rather than trying to do everything at once, Ciccolini has learned the value of focusing on one task at a time.
“I concentrate on being fully present, whether that is practicing or conducting research, to avoid feeling overwhelmed and to maintain the quality of my work,” she said.
When Ciccolini came to Mizzou, she was looking for a place where she could succeed as both a student and an athlete. Instead, she found an environment where one opportunity led to another, allowing her to grow as a researcher, teacher and competitor.
