Maria Bachuchin achieved lasting excellence during her career in gymnastics and community service, and it all started at Slippery Rock University. Bachuchin, ’76, recently received three large honors for a lifetime of service.
- Induction into the Indiana Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
- Indiana High School Athletic Association’s Official of the Year at the Gymnastics State Finals.
- Indiana Exchange Club Secretary of the Year.
Born and raised in Monessen, Bachuchin found herself as an active gymnast for 11 years before starting her college career at SRU, where she earned a bachelor’s degrees in elementary education.
Bachuchin recalled her time at SRU with an overwhelming sense of positivity, crediting the University with being a major source of inspiration and formative education. While at The Rock, she was a member of the Rocklettes dance team for three years, a sister of the Alpha Sigma Phi sorority, a lead dancer with the SRU Orchesis performing dance troupe, and a finalist for the 1973 Homecoming Queen.
Bachuchin remembered this period fondly, mentioning how the dance troupe helped her flourish in the future.
“I did not have any formal dance training as a gymnast,” Bachuchin said. “The first year I was there I helped with home [gymnastics] meets, but dance was a stronger thing for me to do. I auditioned, and they took me in the dance company. I just blossomed with that. It helped fuel my gymnastics coaching. I’ve been choreographing to this day.”
After graduating in 1976, Bachuchin and her husband, Mike, opened their own gymnastics club, which they ran together for 20 years. She also became a certified gymnastics judge in 1976, officiating USGF, USAG, AAU, YMCA, IHSAA and collegiate meets to this day, while acting as an instructor and mentor for new referees. Her commitment to the sport earned her the IHSAA’s Outstanding Official of the Year 2024-25.
Today, Bachuchin still finds ways to support and give back to her community through the Indiana Exchange Club, where she is the secretary for the club in the Chesterton branch. The Indiana Exchange is a non-profit nationwide network of volunteers, all dedicated to making Indiana communities a better place to live.
“The national mission is the prevention of child abuse, which is very near and dear to my heart,” Bachuchin said. “I want to do as much as I can to protect children, being a 40-year kindergarten teacher. I’m thankful to Slippery Rock University for their guidance in that career path.”
In May, Bachuchin was elected to be the secretary of the year at the Indiana Exchange Club’s state conference.
When asked about how SRU helped prepare her for the future, Bachuchin referred to how well the University helped her become more conscientious.
“[Slippery Rock University] certainly prepared me on how to go about a task,” she said. “You had to be detail oriented. You had to be able to work hard, have a goal in mind and do whatever it took to do that goal. The University really helped me with that during my college years.”
When you have a career as successful and rewarding as Maria Bachuchin’s, it is important to remember your roots. Though her time at The Rock was short in comparison to all she has accomplished, Bachuchin never let her pride disappear.
“I highly recommend Slippery Rock University,” Bachuchin said. “It was the best four years of my life.”
