Before competition season started, New Dimension, the advanced all-girls show choir, went through some tough obstacles. Their chances of winning competitions and improving their performance skills seemed to diminish. Against all odds, New Dimension was able to battle their way through and proved everyone wrong when they walked away with the Grand Champion trophy from the Fishers competition.

Junior McKenna Turner is in New Dimension and plays varsity soccer, and knows firsthand what it’s like to be underestimated. Despite being born with only one arm, she still makes a point to put forth her best effort in everything, and doesn’t let other people get to her.
Being doubted and dared to try harder, pushing herself to the limit, Turner impressed a variety of people, starting with the kids on the playground, all the way to travel team soccer coaches. Daring Turner had seemed to be a constant theme throughout her life.

According to Turner, people underestimate her all the time. “I can remember all the way back to elementary school, when kids would dare me to do stuff, like swing from the monkey bars. They always seemed to be impressed when I could get all the way across.”
Being dared to overcome her arm at a young age never caused doubt in Turner’s mind. She was dared to be better on the soccer field, and did just that.

Turner had been playing since she was four, and loved every second of it. During her seventh grade year, she tried out for a travel team. The coaches were debating on letting her on, or another girl, and they decided to go with the other girl because they were afraid Turner might hold back the rest of the team, and not be able to do everything  the other girls could, just because she was missing an arm.

“I was bummed for a while, but never gave up. My mother was always there to pick me up when I was down. Then I tried out for another team. They were impressed, and gave me a spot on their team immediately. The following year, the team that had turned me down called and apologized, and asked me to try out again. I did, and made the team.” After years of hard work paying off, Turner now has D1 scholarship offers from colleges, including Marion University.

Turner took another chance by trying out for show choir in eighth grade, and it has been a pivotal part of her life since then.

“I’m not totally sure why I tried out for show choir, other than I love to sing. I took dance classes when I was in elementary school, but I hated them. I love doing show choir, and I love the girls there too. Show choir girls don’t see me as different, or “disabled,” we’re all one big family.”

Turner is in the top ten percent, show choir, plays varsity and travel soccer, and has D1 scholarship offers for soccer. For Turner, the real question isn’t “Can she do it?” but, “What’s next?”