A question & answer with the 2025 NCEA Distinguished Alumni. The sixth iteration with Georgia alumna Selby Merritt Hill.
What is your favorite memory from being on the equestrian team?
Winning the National Championship in 2014 my senior year!
Are you still involved with horses? How so?
Not competitively, but my husband's family lives on a farm, and we have horses there, so I still get to ride and spend time with horses which is what I love most.
Tell us a little bit about your current career and how. you got to where you are today?
My path involves a lot of pivots and u-turns to get to where I am today haha. After graduation, I started in PR and Marketing and quickly realized it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I ended up applying to grad schools to get my Masters in Secondary Education so that I could teach high school English. I ended up teaching for 7 years and loved every second of it. During grad school, I started practicing yoga and fell in love with it, so a few years later, I became a certified instructor and started teaching yoga on the side. In 2017, a hurricane came through Atlanta, and when we lost power for three days, my husband, my best friend, and I started to talk about how we could start our own yoga studio business. We saw an opportunity in the market to bridge the gap between the corporate concepts that lacked the personal touch and the local small businesses that had great community but lacked the business infrastructure. Three days of no power later, we had a brand, a business plan, and we opened our first studio two years later. Since 2019, we've opened 5 Atlanta studios, 1 Athens, GA studio, and one in Charlotte, NC, and we have plans to continue to expand to new markets later this year. If you had told me 15 years ago this is what I would be doing today, I would have laughed and not believed it, but I am so glad that I followed my heart and continued to have the courage to chase what brought me joy.
How did your experience as a student-athlete help propel you in your current career?
The leadership I got to witness on the UGA Equestrian Team inspires me still today. In my time on the team, I learned the importance of team culture and how to foster a positive one. I learned that when you build something great, the right people want to be a part of it. It's no secret that UGA's team is one of the hardest to get onto, and I am always proud to share that our business has a waiting list to work for us - even for the roles of mopping floors and running laundry for $15 per hour. We have almost no turnover because I think we have a really great culture that once our people join the team, they never want to leave - which is exactly how it felt to be an athlete at UGA. Another thing I valued on the team that I carry with me today is the importance for structure and procedure. Our systems and operations are my number one responsibility, so creating clear expectations and making sure they are met is something that is equally important on an athletic team as it is in business.
How valuable was the opportunity to be a part of a team?
It truly changed the trajectory of my life. I found a sense of confidence and identity during my time on the team that I was missing before. I learned how to work with others towards a common goal, and I was inspired by the magic that can be created when we are all passionate about achieving the same goal.
If you could tell your college self anything, what would it be?
Trust the process and keep an open mind. I thought I knew exactly what I would do after college, and it looked nothing like what I do now. I faced a lot of disappointments and obstacles that forced me to reroute and pivot, and at the time, my "plan" not working out really stressed me out, but now I look back and see that it all worked out exactly how it was meant to. If you have an attitude that things are constantly coming together for good, it makes the sometimes uncomfortable (but necessary) process of growth and change a lot more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
If we continue with our current expansion rate, I see us with more than 30 Yonder Yoga locations across several markets. When we make it that far, I am buying another show horse and getting back in the ring :)