Adoptee, Paige McPherson, is a former Bronze Medal Taekwondo winner and will be fighting for the Gold at this year’s Olympics in Rio. (Watch this news video about her training, her successes, and her family.) Her competitive nature, powerhouse skill, and tenacity are second only to her winning personality and sweet smile. Paige grew up in a family of adoptees—a family filled with love and support and fun.
Paige believes that it is because of adoption that she’s become who she’s always hoped to be. “Adoption is a gift because it has allowed me to chase my dreams,” she says. “My parents have supported me emotionally and financially all the way through my life and career. They are amazing parents and human beings. My siblings and I have had so much opportunity.”
Besides having incredible parents, Paige is blessed with many siblings. “Adoption has brought me brothers and sisters from different backgrounds. Understanding and getting used to different personalities and characteristics during my childhood has made it easier for me to understand other people and their lives,” she told us.
Besides being hugely successful in sports, Paige has been successful in forming and adding to relationships. She recognizes the precious gift of adoption in her life, but also the joy of uniting with biological family. She has met up with her biological brother, and much to Paige’s delight, they share similar characteristics. Additionally, through forming a relationship with her biological brother, Paige appreciates more fully how wonderful her family is and how blessed she has been in her life circumstances. “Without my parents backing and supporting my dreams, I would not be in the position I am today. Meeting my birth brother has made me appreciate my family and my life’s experience even more. I may have never had the desire or the possibility to enter into TaeKwonDo without them. This is why I know that all things happen for a reason.”
As Paige moves forward in her training, she hopes also to pass on her positive feelings about adoption. She hopes someday to have a family with biological and possibly adopted children.
