Personal Statement
I have been swimming with my club team, Mississippi Makos, since I was seven years old. Swimming is the only athletic endeavor I have pursued, adding varsity high school swimming to my commitments in the seventh grade. Swimming is my passion and plays a very central role in my life.
I am an extremely competitive swimmer. I strive for excellence, which is evidenced by the awards I have earned, including:
- Mississippi's Most Outstanding Swimmer: 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014
- 30+ swim meet "High Point" awards in club swimming to date
- Statewide PopStar Nominee: 2011-2012 and 2012-2013
Winning without sportsmanship means nothing, and that is why one of my favorite honors was the year I won the leadership award for my club team. With hundreds of kids on our team, I find it very important as an upperclassman to be a positive role model, by cheering for my teammates when in the pool, or having a supportive conversation when on the deck.
I bring the same drive for excellence to my school work. I have a cumulative GPA of 4.09 and have taken honors and AP classes along the way. I am a member of National Honor Society and have been a member of the student council and student admissions team at my school, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, which was recently named the 18th best private school in the nation.
Although I have a very busy schedule, I have always made room to give back to my community. I am a summer camp counselor for Operation Shoestring, a social services organization that serves underprivileged youth. I am currently working with Shoestring to create a new summer program which will give children their first chance to swim. I am looking forward to this because I am actually helping to create the syllabus and secure the location for the lessons. I am also a member of the Youth Ambassador Council for the Mississippi Children's Museum and have served as a counselor at Camp Karitas - a summer camp for the children of incarcerated parents. Along with my twin sister (who also swims!) I am a swim coach for a summer city swim league team at the Jackson Yacht Club.
My ideal college environment would allow me to balance these two worlds. I am looking for a college where I will be able to develop my skills as a swimmer and my knowledge and experience as a student. I am not afraid of hard work, and I try not to make commitments that I can not fulfill.
