Mia Dillingham '20 Recruiting Profile

I really want to run track in college!  I came to this sport after trying all sorts of fun things like swimming, diving, tennis, basketball,  and even fencing and I really enjoying being athletic, but when I started track spring of my freshman year I fell head over heals in love with the sport and my team and I'm excited to learn more about how to get faster.  I wasn't the fastest kid out there my freshman year but I kept getting awards for working hard and encouraging people and I got selected to be an alternate at State that year, which was super exciting.  Unfortunately I went to the bathroom at exactly the time coach decided to switch out the relay, can you believe it!  I so wanted to run!

This spring after the high school season ended I started working out with the local club team and I've dropped a second off my 200 PR in that month.  I get to join an "athlete academy" at a local gym this fall and I'm excited to train and get faster.

One thing that makes me different is that I was born deaf.  I went to a school for the deaf when I was younger as my parents weren't sure if my cochlear implants would work enough for me to be an English speaker and listener, but they do and I can pass for a hearing person easily these days.  It's not the same and I know that, but I'm happy and thankful for what I have and the opportunities ahead of me with the hearing devices I get to use.   I think this has build a strong character as others have not had the challenges that I have in school academically.  For instance, this spring trimester my hearing would just cut out or die entirely in the middle of class, it happened a lot.  So I just excuse myself and go to the library and then try to catch up by getting the material a different way and learning it myself.  I do fine in school but I wish I did better, it's just hard because I know I miss a lot.

I am a friendly teammate and my coach selected me for a student-athlete leadership program to help get me ready to be a captain and leader in the school.  The conference was really great, I learned about how to help my team both with words and actions and I want our team to win State my junior and senior year so hopefully I can help get everyone excited and on board with that goal, we should be competitive!