Corey Shepard '18 Recruiting Profile

Tackling a challenge is what makes me tick both mentally and physically. I take this approach to every practice and race. Beyond the pool though, I also seek opportunities to challenge myself. At 15, I negotiated the purchase of a 1997 Jeep that I then rebuilt over the next 12 months from the ground up in order to replace the frame. This required a tremendous amount of perseverance and determination. While I learned a great amount during the re-build, my greatest lesson came when I was forced to walk away from the Jeep when it was totaled due to another driver’s negligent actions. While I could have focused on my loss of the Jeep, I instead was the first to help the negligent driver at the accident scene. I learned that you have to live in the moment and press forward instead of wallowing in the past. 

Since my first ride in a helicopter at age 8, I have had a goal to get my pilot’s license. While this is another long-term project, it is one that I am currently pursuing and committed to completing. Likewise in swimming, I have dedicated myself over ten years to invest in practice so that I can produce the results in races. I am humble yet fiercely competitive and I instinctively race every race like the team win depends on it. Some of my favorite swim memories are as the anchor on a relay where I dive in behind and despite the odds, pull out the win for my team.

My goal is to find a swim program that will enable me to continue to improve, while also pushing teammates to improve. Finding both an academically rigorous college with a competitive swim program is my overall objective.