After Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey dominated at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the return to college has been both fun and a bit jarring. “I definitely can say it's a little overwhelming on campus,” Chiles, 23, tells PEOPLE in a joint interview with her Team USA teammate Carey, 24, for a collaboration with Mattel. (In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, the pair were both honored with Barbie dolls.) “I didn't realize that becoming a two-time Olympian would have more people recognize who you are, so I've had to adjust to that a little bit,” Chiles, who is currently a junior at the University of California Los Angeles, continues. “But I mean, I enjoy it. I love being able to have fun.” For Carey, a senior at Oregon State University, competing at the college level has been a change of pace that she needed. “I've been able to just focus on college gymnastics this year, which has been a lot easier on my mind and my body,” she tells PEOPLE, adding that competing at the university level has been “a lot of fun.” “I've been able to really just be present in every single moment and enjoy the process,” she says. While at the Olympic games in Paris last summer, the duo accomplished big wins individually and as part of Team USA. With teammates Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera, they won in the women's team final, earning Team USA its fourth gold medal in the event. The Olympic medals came at some personal cost. Carey, who won bronze in the women’s vault final, pushed through sickness in the lead-up to her performance, while Chiles’ first ever solo prize, a bronze medal in the floor final, was stripped amid rank controversy involving Romanian gymnasts and Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Returning to college has been a reset for both Carey and Chiles. “Even in the gym, I've been able to learn some new skills that I didn't really have time to play with before and try competing [with] them in college,” says Carey. “So it's been a fun challenge to try to do new things and also make them perfect because that's what college is all about.” Chiles has enjoyed time with her teammates and participating in classic college experiences like trying out different clubs and making new friends. “Everybody wants to go to college and experience the college fun, right?” she says. “And having the ability to do that and still be in the professional route as well, it's really cool.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The nine-time All-American is excited for the opportunity to evolve like other college students. “Everybody's evolving into who they're trying to become,” Chiles continues. “Especially me and Jade, we got taught that at a younger age because of our sport, but knowing that we get to express and find different things in our normal life that doesn't have to do with our sport — I think it's really cool.” The gymnastics champion loves getting sushi with her friends, or having the time to ride a bike or go hiking. She says she enjoys the opportunity to “do something that's just out of the norm of me flipping on a four-inch piece of wood or having to run towards a vault.” Chiles adds, “My word is fun for a reason. So yeah, I enjoy it a lot.”