Magdelynn\u202fWigoda\u00a0\u201922\u00a0MS \u201825\u00a0is no stranger to\u00a0stepping\u00a0up\u00a0for\u00a0the benefit of others.<\/p>\n
As a\u00a0founder\u00a0and president\u00a0of\u00a0East Stroudsburg University\u2019s chapter of The Hidden Opponent,\u00a0she\u00a0helped\u00a0normalize the conversation\u00a0on campus\u00a0surrounding\u00a0mental health in\u00a0college athletics\u00a0by\u00a0establishing\u00a0a space for\u00a0ESU\u00a0student-athletes to\u00a0talk\u00a0openly\u00a0about\u00a0their struggles.<\/p>\n
So\u00a0when\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity\u00a0came about\u00a0to\u00a0promote health and wellbeing\u00a0in an even bigger way,\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0once again\u00a0decided to put herself out there \u2013 this time\u00a0on the national stage.<\/p>\n
Wigoda\u00a0recently completed\u00a0Good Morning America\u2019s \u201cSix-Week Shape Up,\u201d a fitness challenge\u00a0aimed at\u00a0improving wellness and\u00a0developing healthy everyday habits.\u00a0Wigoda, along with\u00a0her\u00a0two fellow participants, were introduced to viewers\u00a0of the longstanding morning show\u00a0in a May 4 kickoff segment led by host Robin Roberts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Poconos-based teacher and coach is ready to kickstart a new fitness routine,\u201d Roberts narrated as photos of\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0flashed on screen.<\/p>\n
Over the next six weeks,\u00a0Wigoda recorded her progress in a series of video\u00a0updates\u00a0that GMA\u00a0aired on its\u00a0broadcast,\u00a0website\u00a0and social media channels.<\/p>\n
Whether it was\u00a0playing pickleball\u00a0or practicing yoga,\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0went outside her comfort zone and let the public follow along on\u00a0her personal\u00a0fitness\u00a0journey\u00a0so others could learn from it, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching yourself on TV after you grew up watching Good Morning America as a kid, it\u2019s a cool thing to hear people say that they watched it with their family and that it helped their child or helped them because they felt stuck,\u201d\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
Wigoda\u2019s\u00a0growth\u00a0at ESU\u00a0was rooted in helping others.\u00a0A dedicated volunteer,\u00a0she was awarded the University Leadership Award\u00a0in her senior year in 2022 for her\u00a0work\u00a0with numerous groups, including the\u00a0National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, the Sign Language Club, Autism Speaks U, East Stroudsburg Shutters\u00a0and\u00a0ESU\u2019s\u00a0Career and Independent Living and Learning Studies\u00a0(CILLS)\u00a0program.\u00a0She received her bachelor\u2019s degree in communications sciences and disorders in 2022 and earned a master\u2019s degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2025.<\/p>\n
A former captain of ESU\u2019s women\u2019s basketball team, she\u00a0also\u00a0opened up\u00a0to her fellow student-athletes about\u00a0her\u00a0own\u00a0mental health\u00a0struggles after\u00a0an ACL\u00a0tear caused her to miss her entire senior season.\u00a0The Hidden Opponent,\u00a0established\u00a0the previous year, gave her a safe space to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking back to my\u00a0freshman\u00a0year, I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0really have an idea of the importance of mental health as a student-athlete, especially at the collegiate level. It just\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0talked about,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that\u2019s why I wanted to help bring it here, for my younger self.\u201d<\/p>\n
In choosing a goal for the \u201cSix-Week\u00a0Shape Up\u201d challenge,\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0wanted to\u00a0get\u00a0back to the basics of diet and exercise she followed in\u00a0those days of being an ESU student-athlete.<\/p>\n
Good Morning America paired her with\u00a0fitness expert Robin Arzon and nutritionist Maya Feller, who armed her with a workout plan and tips on healthy eating.\u00a0As a special education teacher\u00a0for Behavioral Health\u00a0Associates\u00a0in Lehighton, Pa.,\u00a0an assistant varsity\u00a0basketball\u00a0coach at East Stroudsburg South High School\u00a0and\u00a0an assistant\u00a0varsity\u00a0softball coach\u00a0at Lehighton\u00a0Area\u00a0High School, the team helped her develop a strategy that was heavy on smart snack options for being on the go, coupled with daily movement.<\/p>\n
The challenge concluded on June 15, with\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0giving\u00a0Good Morning America\u00a0viewers\u00a0a\u00a0final\u00a0check-in\u00a0on her six-week transformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think these six weeks,\u00a0I\u2019ve felt more like myself than I have before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Though she\u00a0lost 10 pounds during the challenge,\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0is\u00a0prouder\u00a0of what she gained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect going into it, but I knew I\u2019d walk away with something I could use to make these important lifestyle changes last,\u201d\u00a0Wigoda\u00a0said.<\/p>\n