She Dreamed of The Fight. Now, She’s Fighting For Dreamers.
Judo champion and Team USA hopeful Nicole Stout-Berliner knows what it’s like to get knocked down — but she’ll never stay there. (Photo credit: Purdue Global)
Guild and Team USA help U.S. Olympic hopeful Nicole Stout-Berliner earn an MBA with Purdue Global to aid her advocacy efforts
U.S. Olympic hopeful and Purdue Global MBA student Nicole Stout-Berliner is a champion fighter — and now, through the Guild and Team USA Learning Network, she’s earning her MBA from Purdue Global.
As a judo athlete, she’s grappled with countless opponents, whether on the mat or along her life’s journey. Although she’s always fought her way to the top, it’s become her long-term dream to be an advocate for other athletes.
Immediately after high school, Stout-Berliner suffered the loss of her familial support. Focusing on her dreams of making Team USA, her parents feared, would leave her with no education upon her retirement. She wanted to pursue both her bachelor’s degree and a spot on Team USA judo. Her parents thought it was a doomed endeavor and refused to support it.
Ultimately, Stout-Berliner and her parents parted ways.
But she dug in her heels and refused to let up. She worked. She trained. She powered through coursework. Then, in 2021, she earned a bachelor’s degree and started making a name for herself in the judo community.
Stout-Berliner now celebrates her seventh consecutive year as the No. 1 athlete, with 13 national medals and 22 international medals to her name.
Although she sees the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (when she’ll be 30) as her last shot to qualify, Stout-Berliner is more of a force than ever. But it’s not just a fight for one Olympic dream anymore. She’s devoting her time to making the world better for the athletes who come after her, too, because she believes no one should have to give up on any of their dreams.
That’s why she didn’t waste a moment applying to Purdue Global for an MBA.
An opportunity to plan for the future
“I’ve been wanting to earn a master’s degree since I graduated with my bachelor’s, but I couldn’t afford it,” Stout-Berliner says. “I just couldn’t justify moving money away from my judo career when, technically, I could do a master’s degree later.”
But all that changed when Guild and Team USA Learning Network presented U.S. Olympians, U.S. Paralympians and Team USA hopefuls with the educational opportunity of a lifetime. She couldn’t wait to get started.
“I imagine a lot of athletes are in the position where we can’t work a full-time job that would offer this kind of benefit,” she says. “The options are one, pay out of pocket; two, pull more loans; or three, don’t go. Those options suck. They’re the options I’ve had for years, and it wasn’t until this year that there was a new option. I jumped on board.”
Finally being able to pursue my master’s degree helps me set up (what’s next), and it makes anything I might have turned down to pursue my judo goals completely worth it."
Nicole Stout-Berliner
MBA, Purdue Global
U.S. Olympic Hopeful, Judo
The peace of mind she’s gained from being able to plan with certainty is everything to her.
“I have to start thinking about what comes next. Finally being able to pursue my master’s degree helps me set that up, and it makes anything I might have turned down to pursue my judo goals completely worth it,” she says.
But what she went through to arrive at this point lit an unquenchable fire within her. The MBA not only secures her own future, but also equips her to fight for others because she can’t stand the idea that other young athletes might face similar obstacles while pursuing their dreams.
Training to fight for a new generation
Stout-Berliner says the skills she’s learning in her classes are already making her a more effective advocate. In addition to the extensive training schedule of an elite athlete, she’s gotten involved in the governance of her sport to ensure that policies are in the athletes’ best interests.
“Having the experience of living poor on the road, being made to pay for everything on my own in order to be able to do the sport I love really shaped my perspective that the athletes deserve more,” she says. “So, three years ago, I realized maybe I could make a difference if I joined the governance that makes these decisions.”
Stout-Berliner played a key role in creating the first-ever athlete advisory committee for USA Judo in 2022 and was also elected to its board of directors as an athlete representative. She was reelected in the fall of 2024 (with a record-breaking number of votes from athletes, nearly doubling previously recorded numbers), and her term is set through 2029.
Her classes have been a game changer already. She says the knowledge she’s gained has helped her understand how to operate more effectively in those roles.
“I’m really proud that I’ve been instrumental in introducing the most funding and support for the junior and cadet groups that they’ve ever had and some of the success we’ve had since then,” she says.
Stout-Berliner will have a fighting spirit throughout her life. But as the years have passed, it’s become more fun. Recently married to fellow judo champion Kell Berliner, she’s finally building a life she loves with the family she’s found in the judo community, her husband and her in-laws.
“This is the best my life has ever been, easily. I’ve got someone who loves me and all the craziness I bring to the table. I’m not dying for money anymore. I have a decent job that lets me pursue my judo dreams and still be able to eat,” she says. “I can’t wait to see what life’s going to look like next year and the year after that. I want every generation to see greater success than the one before.
“I like the idea that my actions will affect the future rather than being remembered for my name or my career. Even if I don’t get to realize my own dreams in LA, I’ll know I had a part to play in athletes who qualify in the future.”
I can’t wait to see what life’s going to look like next year and the year after that. I want every generation to see greater success than the one before."
Nicole Stout-Berliner
MBA, Purdue Global
U.S. Olympic Hopeful, Judo